Star Wars Darth Rächen: Sith Legend
by cfxcin02
Summary: Set several millennia after the battle of Endor a new Sith threat rises; one more powerful than any before him. His power grows greater as time passes and he is determined to do what many other Sith have tried and failed to do; destroy every last Jedi.
1. Prolague

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Just a few things before I start the story. First I apologize for this lengthy intro but I feel i need to say and explain a few things first and the sites guidelines for posting stories say I am not supposed to spend a chapter on all of this, forcing me to put it all at the start of this chapter; so if you want to skip past all this just go down till you see the title. Now this is my first Star Wars Fan Fic, I have one other Fan Fic already in the works, but that is for a TV show called H2O: Just Add Water, it is totally unrelated to this story (no crossover at all). For those of you who have me tagged as a favorite author I apologize for not having updated my other story in a while but it has been moved to the back burner do to writer's block and other projects such as this.

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Next, this character is supposed to be me to a certain extent (his talents and his background are just me making stuff up, but his actions are based off of me). Further, part 1 may be kind of confusing and hard to read since I do not give my Jedi's name. That is intentional; I repeat you will do not learn the name of my Jedi (it would make writing this story easier if I did give him a name and tell it to you, but my no name idea fits him better) . It will take a while for my reason to be revealed (I hope) but once it does I will make a note to point out that I have revealed it. The names of several other characters are also omitted. The rationale for this is pretty close to the same as my Jedi's name. I don't want to give it away just yet so I apologize but you will have to wait.

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I make many references to the Star Wars movies, some books and games. If anything seems foggy please send me a message and I will try to clear it up for you.

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With all that said I invite you all to read and enjoy it. If you feel up to it please review, however I ask that your review actually have some content to it, not just good job or update soon type reviews. Its not that I don't appreciate that sort of comment (I do appreciate those comments), but I would appreciate actual constructive reviews a lot more. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you would like to see, what you think I could do to make it better; that sort of thing.

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Lastly I am saying this once and only once, I do NOT own any of the rights to anything Star Wars related. Not the movies, not the books, games or any of the merchandise related to Star Wars. I may own some of the merchandise but I do NOT own the rights to it.

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Now Finally I give you:

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**Star Wars **

**Darth Rächen: Sith Legend**

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Prologue

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He stood at the entrance to the Sith academy on Koriban. Power beyond his dreams swelled within him. He knew as soon as he set foot inside the academy others would feel his presence and his power. The lesser sith students would bow to him; the greater, more powerful would be split; some would sense what he had become and bow down and serve him while others would add their power to his own as he struck them down. He desired and was determined to become the greatest Sith Lord in history; he would be the one to finally wipe every last Jedi from the face of the galaxy. He would not spare a single Jedi, either they would renounce their Jedi teachings and swear allegiance to him becoming Sith themselves or die.

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He had been a Jedi once himself but now nothing remained of his former self, that part of his life was so far behind him now that only distant and faint memories of feelings of anger and hatred towards many in his past remained. A few names from his past still triggered memories within him, but now even the name he went by as a Jedi was forgotten.

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Darkness now filled him completely; there was nothing good left in him. Many before him had come to the dark side of the force only to turn back to the light. To attempt such a feet with him would be impossible. He was now ready to begin his quest, he opened the door.


	2. Chapter 1

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**Part I: The Old Life**

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Chapter 1

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The stories and legends still spread throughout the galaxy; Sith and Jedi, the epic battle between the two factions. Stories of Sith Lords and their power, stories of Anakin Skywalker and the fall of the republic and Jedi. But even stories of the fall of the Empire, Darth Vader and his master Lord Sidious, the Emperor were distant memories of millennia ago. No being still lived that had been alive during the epic battle over Endor when the Empire's fall began; many, many generations had passed. Both Sith and Jedi alike had rebuilt their forces and made changes learning from the past.

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The Sith had rebuilt the Koriban academy and no longer adhered strictly to Darth Bane's rule of two. There was still one true master and one true apprentice, but many others were granted the title of Sith Lord but only as a sign of knowledge and power, and only the true master and his true apprentice were permitted to use the title "Darth".

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The Jedi no longer took children from their homes to raise them in the ways of the force, but instead offered lessons for all those they felt had a connection to the force. Many academies were set up throughout the galaxy to teach those with a connection to the force with a central academy located within a new Jedi Temple on Corisant. When the student was old enough to live on their own they would bring them to specialized academies to begin more focused programs to turn them into Jedi. They had even re-created the trials that separated padwan's form Jedi Knights. The Jedi council also had reformed following many of the traditions of the council of old.

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Despite changes and adapting new ways to fight an old war many problems of old still existed. Both factions were still not trusted by many throughout the galaxy and despite the Jedi being more willing to use elements of the dark side; they still feared any use of and the presence of the dark side.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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With time not only had the Sith and Jedi rebuilt, but so had the republic. Structured the same as it had been during the time that Emperor Palpatine had come to power now had one of its most powerful and influential senators had been kidnapped.

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The senator had come to power like any other politician; funding his campaign with donations from wealthy individuals and organizations and owing them favors in the senate should he be elected. He had other plans though; he had managed his campaign finances very wisely so he could fund any future campaign efforts on his own. Once elected to the senate he turned his back on those who funded him and focused his efforts on being a true representative of the people. Not only did he try to represent the people of his home world but the people of the republic too. He looked out for the well being of everyone but himself; numerous lobbyists tried to bribe him for favors only to be turned away. Actions like that had made the senator into a hero of the people but angered those who held the wealth and power. Many of the people of the republic those he represented and those he didn't were calling for him to become the Supreme Chancellor, though expressed no interest in such. Even many of his colleagues had tried to nominate him for but every time he declined. He felt he could do more as a senator than he could if he was the Supreme Chancellor. Everything he did won him more favor with the citizens of the republic and enemies of every major political contributor to both his initial campaign and every other political campaign.

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His home planet elected its senators to four year terms and he was in his fifth term when he diapered. Every major crime syndicate claimed responsibility but evidence narrowed it down to the Zangs; a crime syndicate that had only formed within the last couple of centuries but had grown large and powerful quickly. There were many clans to the Zangs and to determine who precisely was responsible and find the missing senator was the job of a young Jedi still relatively new to the force; he had completed the trials a few months prior and was now on his first mission for the Jedi council. He was to lead a team of Padawans to investigate the disappearance of the senator.

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As a Padwan he was never given an assignment of his own. He always was accompanied by his master who had many times denied him the chance to take the trails and become a Jedi Knight. Now he was landing on Nar Shada; the smugglers moon. Home to several crime syndicates it was filled with black markets, bounty hunters and all sorts of the republics undesirables. His team consisted of ten Padawans who were very new to the force and had trouble sensing and controlling it. Only one of them was experienced and skilled enough to wield a Light Saber. All the others wielded various blades and blasters. In addition he had three republic soldiers who were pilots and two outdated protocol droids.

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"Why did they do this to me? My first assignment and they send me on some supposed rescue mission with a bunch of worthless Padawans. Even the droids are worthless; their programming is deteriorating and they can't understand a single langue that isn't used by the republic. This stupid senator is already dead; they killed him by now and my rescue mission is really nothing more than a search for his body. I just don't understand." He complained to his best friend Dex, one of the republic soldiers accompanying him on this mission, and captain of the ship.

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Before Dex could respond one of the Padawans opened the doors to his chamber without knocking. The Padawan was greeted with looks of anger and annoyance. Quickly realizing his mistake of rudeness and lack of common curtsey he quickly apologized.

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"Oh, sorry master; it's just that the star port authorities are requesting our authorization code if we are to land in our requested bay."

"My men have the code already; just tell them to send it in." Dex instructed.

"Well you see that's the problem; I'm afraid we lost the code."

Dex just shook his head in disgust, "Fine, I'll be up in a minute to send it myself.

"What shall I instruct the pilots to do until then?"

"Tell them to attack the nearest civilian transport."

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The Padawan just stared with confusion at what was to be his master for the duration of this mission, while Dex gave his friend a look of disappointment.

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"What do you think we should do? Just hold position in orbit until we get clearance to land."

"I'm sorry master; that was a dumb question to ask."

"I swear I've met Gamorians with more sense than you. Now return to the cockpit, the captain and I will be up in a little while."

"But don't we need to land as quickly as possible? Isn't time a critical factor if we are to rescue the Senator?"

"The Senator is already dead, the Council and Senate just refuse to admit it. That is why this is being called a rescue mission. And since he is already dead there is trolley no rush to land and find him." He scolded the Padawan.

"But if the Council says he's alive…"

"Listen carefully;" he took a deep breath in and then shouted at the Padawan at the top of his lungs, "HE IS ALREADY DEAD! Now leave us."

The Padawan left quickly leaving the two men alone.

"Was that necessary? Aren't you Jedi supposed to teach and practice patience?" Dex asked his friend.

"You try dealing with them and we'll see how patient you are. Besides you heard what he asked. If I didn't tell him what he was actually supposed to do we would have some serious explaining to do when they attacked a civilian transport."

"Still, you didn't need to blow up at him like that. I may be no Jedi but I do know what it is like dealing with rookies. The key is patience, don't be short with them; they are gonna ask and do stupid things."

"You're right; it's just this whole mission. You're the only one who isn't incompetent. If the council truly believed that he was alive they would have sent a team of experienced Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters. Instead they send a team of Padawans led by a single Jedi Knight. And what gets me the most is the fact that they selected me for this mission. As a Padawan I was never allowed to do anything by myself. I always had somebody supervising me. Now that I'm a Jedi Knight and I'm finally given my first solo assignment and it's not even a real one; it is something none of the others wanted to bother with. They have no faith in me, that's why I was given this mission, a job that even if I screw up it has no long term affects. And since they have no faith in my abilities of any sort, they give me a team of Padawans that even Master Lana can't teach. Even the pilots are incompetent; the only reason you're here is to make sure they don't crash the ship."

"Look you just have to prove yourself to them. Here's what we'll do; we land conduct the investigation like we are looking to find this guy alive and a soon as we have undeniable evidence that he is dead we find his kidnappers and killers and bring them back to the Jedi Council as a sign of your abilities. And at some point in there we retrieve the body. You will have solved the mystery, caught the thugs responsible and retrieved the body; that has got to make you look good." Dex paused a moment then jokingly added, "And I know how hard a task that is."

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Dex braced himself for the punch that followed.

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"C'mon lets go land this ship."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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An hour after sending in the clearance code they landed, an hour after that the entire crew gathered for a final mission briefing before they began.

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"Ok listen carefully, the Jedi Council and the Galactic Senate believe that the missing Senator to be alive. Many of you already know that I don't believe the same. Regardless of my opinion we are going to investigate this as if he is alive. Should we discover evidence that confirms he is dead then we will find those responsible, capture them, retrieve the Senator's body and return back to Corrisant with both the criminals and the body. Now there is reason to believe that an organized criminal syndicate called The Zangs are responsible. Their headquarters are located right here on Nar Shada. For those of you who are not familiar with Nar Shada it is one of the moons of the planet Narl Hutta, the home world of the Hutts. The name translates to "glorious jewel", but it is often referred to as the smugglers' moon. There a few places where you will find a worse class of beings. Nar Shada itself is tainted with the dark side of the force, and it works its way into every living being whether they can feel it or not. Keep that in mind while we are here, situations can escalate very quickly from the simplest of things. Now I have a contact inside the local cell and have made arrangements to meet. While I'm off meeting with my contact you all will go out and work the streets so to speak. Hit places like the swoop track, cantinas and any other public place where you feel you might get information. Keep in mind you are not there for pleasure and recreation, you are trying to dig up any information that you can about the Senator's disappearance. Before I go any further are there any questions, comments or concerns?"

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Everybody was silent.

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"Ok then just a few final reminders; we are supposed to be smugglers here to do business; buying, selling and trading goods such as: spices, medical supplies, food, weapons, and other things of that sort. Be sure that you inform X5-D8, or T9-3 of where you intend to go before you leave and check back in with one of them when you return. I want everybody back here by 17:00 local time."

"Sorry to interrupt, but if I may I would like to make a suggestion." Dex cut in, "Seeing as how this is the smugglers' moon and we are supposed to be smugglers it would be wise to carry a smuggler's weapon of choice; some sort of blaster pistol. They are easy to hide and draw less attention when used in a fight."

"Good idea; padawans leave our weapons behind and take a blaster with you when you leave it will help us to blend in better and not draw attention to ourselves. Anybody else have anything they wish to add?"

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Silence filled the ship.

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"In that case then may the force be with us."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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"So who is this contact of yours?" Dex asked as he walked along side his Jedi friend.

"An old acquaintance of mine, we grew up in the same neighborhood together. We were never really friends but our social circles overlapped so we saw each other a lot and I helped her get out of many jams and taught her everything she knows about setting traps how not to be found and other stuff like that."

"Criminal activity?"

"Don't sound so surprised, you know what sort of life I had growing up; I got into my fair share of trouble, I just knew how not to get caught. Anyway, we've kept in touch periodically and she told me that she was getting involved with the Zangs and I couldn't help but laugh, it was perfect for her. So when I heard they were the prime suspects I knew she was my ticket in. She owes me big for getting her out f trouble so many times and for teaching her everything."

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The two walked on for another couple of kilometers and stopped just before turning down a dark alley.

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"I almost forgot; she doesn't know I'm a Jedi; she thinks I work for the senate so just follow my lead."

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They turned down the alley and a couple of meters in they heard a voice call out to them.

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"Well, well, what do we have here?"

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From out of the darkest shadows came a female Twelick. She walked with confidence and grinned at the sight of the two men standing before her.

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"I should have known it was you that wanted to see me."

"Hello Sasha, I knew you'd fall that old trick. Cortyg Brandy is your weakness; you'll do anything for that stuff. Plus if I had made it know that _I_ wanted to meet with you I'd probably end up searching half the system trying to find you."

"So what do you want?"

"I'm trying to track down the Senator's killers."

"What Senator?" She asked in a believable tone, but it was of no use, he knew her to well and something in the force was telling him she was lying.

"Don't try to fool me, you know what Senator."

"Enlighten me then."

"Love by every citizen of the republic, hated by every wealthy investor and crime syndicate such as... oh say… the Zangs. The one who mysteriously disappeared; whoever did it left their fingerprints all over the scene of the crime, the evidence overwhelming points to the Zangs. Pretty sloppy if you ask me."

"I still have no clue who you're talking about. And whoever killed this guy couldn't be one of mine…"

She quickly went silent realizing she had just given more away about herself and her role within The Zangs than she had wanted to.

"Sasha my skills of perception aren't what they were growing up; they've gotten stronger. I advise you not to make me use my other talents to make you talk; don't forget the great debt you owe me."

"A debt I have no intention of repaying."

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Subtlety brushing aside his traditional Jedi robe he revealed his light saber hooked to his belt.

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"I strongly urge you to reconsider."

"So you are a Jedi now," she scoffed at the revelation, "I'm not intimidated, you don't dare draw your light saber unless you plan to attack me with it; it'd draw to much attention. And since you're a Jedi you won't attack an opponent who poses no threat; so as long as I don't take my blaster out your saber will remain on your belt."

"Who's to say I go along with everything the Jedi say?"

"If you kill me then you get nothing. I'm your only lead; I'm prepared to die, so the question is: are you prepared to lose your only lead."

"Fair enough, but I don't need my saber to get information from you."

"Fool, I know all about Jedi and their mind tricks, the second you showed your saber I put up barriers within my mind to keep you out of it."

"Fine, then maybe the Nar Shada authorities would be interested in The Zangs involvement in the raid on that new medical center a few days ago. A lot of important people were touring that place when the attack came. Some of them were hurt pretty badly and without the proper medical supplies they died. I bet the authorities would love to know that you orchestrated the whole thing."

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Sasha looked at him with fear in her eyes.

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"How did you know about that?"

"Did you think I would wait until you knew I was a Jedi to probe your mind?"

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She stood staring in shock; she had fallen into a trap.

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"Now stop me at anytime if I get something wrong, but if I know my local politics well there is a truce of sorts between The Zangs and the local government, in fact you are under their protection. The evidence I can give them is enough to link you and the rest of The Zangs to the attack and I'm sure once they link you to this attack they'll know how to link you to others, and I'm sure there are others. Being linked to this attack alone though would probably be enough for the government to revoke your protection, and then every crime lord in the system will be gunning for The Zangs; trying to bring you down and claim the title of top crime syndicate in the system with all the power and influence that comes with it. Or maybe I'll go to one of the other crime syndicates with this evidence and let them decide what to do with it."

"You and your friend will have to make out of this alley alive first. I'm the fastest draw on the planet; I'd shoot you two dead so fast…"

"You forget Sasha, I'm a Jedi; my reflexes and senses would protect me. Or with the help of the force I could easily draw your blaster away from you before you could draw it, or any other of the numerous possibilities. Now here is what I propose; you range a meeting between your bosses and my team and me on neutral ground. We come, we talk, they tell me where the body is and we part ways. If you refuse you will be turned in, and if you should try anything you will be feeling the wrath of a team of elite special operations republic soldiers. My buddy here alone has enough training to take on 50 Gamerean Raiders on his own. And to top it off, me; a Jedi Knight."

"Fine, meet me back here tomorrow same time for the details."

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The two men stood and watched as Sasha turned and walked back into the shadows. Once Dex was sure she was gone he turned and looked at his friend.

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"What?"

"Why did you tell her that? You know I just your standard issue fighter pilot. And your team is about the equivalent of 20 regular republic soldiers"

"She doesn't know that though; by making her think I was here with a team that could easily wipe her clan from the face of the galaxy she'll cooperate. "

"Just one more thing, you arrange this meeting by telling her we had Cortyg Brandy to sell."

"Yeah, she loves the stuff; she'd sell out anyone for a bottle of it."

"You mean she actually drinks that stuff?"

"Yeah, it's not that bad."

"Wookiees drink that stuff man."

"I know; it's not my favorite but on occasion I'll drink it; especially after hard days. The council disapproves drinking anything that hard because it dulls the senses, but when I drink I don't need my senses to be that sharp, plus I tell them that it's the milder stuff not the same stuff that Wookiees drink, and that usually gets them off my back."

"How can you drink it, I tried some of the milder version once and nearly died just form a single sip."

"Well it's not for the normal person, you have to be pretty tough to be able to drink it; now come on let's get back to the ship."

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"X5-D8 has everybody checked back in yet?"

"All but one has returned to the ship thus far." The protocol droid responded, "The padawan named Gheis Savo left carrying a Vibroblade and refused to inform neither myself nor T9-3 as to where he was going."

"WHAT!"

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Dex quickly stepped between his friend and the droid, "Calm down right now. Look I'll go back out and try to track him down; I'm good at working the streets for information. You stay here and debrief your padawans and I'll be back in an hour. X5-D8 can you get me a holographic image of this padawan?"

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"Certainly sir, I'll be back in a moment."

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When the droid returned Dex took off to begin his search.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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An hour after he left the ship Dex returned.

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"So what did you learn?"

"Well, I fear for the future of the Jedi Order; he decided to go out to the cantina for some leisure time, got drunk and thought it would be funny to pick a fight with a Wookiee; need I say anymore?"

"Perfect, the council's gonna love that."

"Well if they'd like I'm sure I can get is remains, several recording devices caught the fight on tape so I'm sure that if look at the recordings hard enough I can go back and scrape together his remains."

"You're not helping; and did you say scrape together his remains?"

"Yep, I saw some of the recordings and I'd rather not repeat some of the names he called the Wookiee. I have never seen a Wookiee get so mad; I've seen plenty of Wookiees rip limbs off, but this goes beyond anything I've ever seen a Wookiee do."

"Wonderful, more good news for the council. T9-3, ready a transition to the Jedi Council on Corisant."

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Dex stood outside the chamber doors listening to his friend's conversation with the Jedi Council. Though he couldn't hear much he was able to figure out it wasn't going well by the occasional loud shouting coming from inside the room.

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Suddenly he heard a loud crash come from inside the room. He quickly swung the door open to see a Vibroblade sitting in the middle of the holo projector.

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"Thanks, that's gonna come out of my pay you know."

"Sorry."

"So what's so bad that you needed to attack the holo projector?"

"The council is holding me responsible for that stupid padawan's death."

"What do you mean they're holding you responsible, that don't sound like the Jedi."

"They didn't say it in those words. What they said was something like I need to be more cautious with them and at the same time to be more authoritative. Topping it off they "recommended against" my plan, and that's just they're way of saying that they forbid it."

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He turned grabbed the Vibroblade he had smashed the holo projector with and with all his physical might and the aid of the force threw it at the wall. Dex ducked out of the way just in time as the Vibroblade came flying towards his head on its way to the wall.

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"Thanks for nearly taking my head OFF!" Dex yelled.

"Sorry, it's just the council infuriates me so. They make me so angry. You know it's times like this that I think about who has got the right idea, and you know who that is? The Sith; they don't care about collateral damage, they go in get their job done and leave and don't care about who or what gets in their way."

"What?" Dex couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Relax, I'm exaggerating; besides the Sith will always destroy themselves with their fighting for power and control, and I don't want to get killed. But it doesn't change the way I fell about the council."

"Tell you what, I got some real good Corellian Brandy in my quarters; let's go have a few drinks before you make me go to the Huts for a loan to get the ship fixed."

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The two men headed back to the ship and drank the rest of the night away.

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Between the hang over that the two men had and nothing new to report, the briefing the next morning was short; the same instructions as the day before were given and everybody was off.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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After walking for a while Dex began to realize that he was not being lead back to the alley where they had met Sasha the day before.

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"Hey where are we going? None of this looks familiar to me."

"The swoop track."

"What?"

"The alley is a trap, we go back there we fight and loose Sasha. Growing up as kids I saw that trick many times. Some kid is stupid enough to make a deal with her and when he arrives at the meeting place for the exchange he gets jumped and has his trade goods taken. Meanwhile Sasha is off at the most popular place she can find and gets her good without giving anything up. The idiot kid has no clue what has happened or that she is behind it. Today is the annual Narl Huta pod racing championship, everybody will be there giving her the perfect alibi."

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Pod Racing and all forms of swoop racing had been alive and strong since before the time of Darth Revan. Even during the reign of Emperor Palpatine it had survived in portions of the galaxy such as Narl Hutta and its moons. Lord Sidious had banned Pod Racing from the empire but it thrived as an underground sport and become even bigger in systems that were not controlled by the Empire. When the Empire finally fell and the republic came to be again the ban was lifted and the sport took off in popularity more than before. What the Bonta Classic was when Anakin Skywalker won it; the Narl Hutta championships now were.

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The crowd at the track was so thick it was impossible to see more than two or three people deep, but for a Jedi this posed no challenge. He reached out with the force to sense where she was, but he did not sense her and follow it to her, instead the force told him where she was exactly. He began making his way to her with Dex in tow.

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She hadn't seen them coming giving them the element of surprise.

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"Nice try, but your trap failed and your men are dead."

"I underestimated you; I often suspected you knew more of my tactics than you let on. So tell me, if you didn't go to my trap how is it my men are dead."

"Right about now one of my protocol droids is delivering a special package to that alley. Inside I have loaded all sorts of explosives; mines, grenades, some thermal detonators and topping it off is three Theronium charges each capable of blasting open a Cortis door. If your men open fire and destroy the explosion will set off the package and they are dead. If they hold there is a backup plan, I have placed a timed charge in there set to go off as soon as the droid leaves the alley. The only way they live is if they aren't in the alley when the package goes off, but I'm betting it that they are dead; am I right?"

"Are you sure you're a Jedi? That much explosive power is sinister."

"When I send a message I make sure it is heard loud and clear. You knew I was Jedi and I guarantee you mentioned it to your boss. No ordinary thugs are gonna be able to take down a Jedi, so a massive team of your best to set the trap. When none return alive I'm sure more will be sent to investigate and when your bosses learn what happened my message will be heard loud and clear."

"And what message is that?"

"Don't mess with me."

"I hate to break it to you but we weren't looking for the kill. I sent a handful of my stupidest men to meet you. They'll open fire on the droid, but they won't be missed. But I'll be sure to deliver the message for you. If you still want that meeting be at the abandoned Pazak den in the old refugee sector t 17:00 in three standard days.

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The next few days were filled with the same routine that they had gaone about since landing, except no birefings or conversaation except amoungst the padawans. The most conversation that Dex had with nhis friend was when he sugjested that they go check out the meeeting location since they had only one day till the meeting. When they arrived they looked the place over; a small room completly making plenty of space for their team, but also pleanty of space for the Zangs'. Their didn't appear to be to many palces to hide but they knew better, if a spot could be found it would be occupied. The silence between the two was tense as could be.

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Dex was looking around for nothing and at nothing in particular when he broke the silence.

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"ARE YOU TRING TO BLEED ME DRY?" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"That droid may be outdated but the republic will be looking to me to replace it. Do you have any idea what a new protocol droid is going to cost me? The least you could have done is warned me about your plan."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting them to send me a message; I was expecting them to try and KILL ME!"

"You didn't even bother to say a word to me. Do you know what happens when we get back? I have to file a damage supply usage report and they inspect the ship for damages. With all the explosives you used, the droid, a smashed holo projector and the damages to the wall in your room there is going to be a large bill for all that and guess who is going to get it? ME! If you keep this up I am going to have to get a loan so big that the only people who will give it to me are people like the Hutts. And that is just so I can get through the next few months. I can't afford to be making loan payments to a bank even. I'm scraping together all my credits to get married when my time in the here is over. I've already given up the idea of getting a new landspeeder when this mission is done, the holo projector ensured that. Bottom line; I can't afford to be spending tons of credits right now, you need to calm down, be less reckless and more considerate."

"You know you're beginning to sound a lot like the Jedi council."

"Well maybe they have some valid points. From the start you have been reckless an d car;less in how you have led this mission. I've led a few fighter squads before and if I had led them like you my entire squad would have been killed and so would I."

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Dex had struck a nerve, he watched as his firend turned and swiftley left. Dex stayed for a while longer trying to find all the palces that the Zang's could hide, he didn't want to be caught by a surpise sneak attack. When he was cionvinced he wasn't going to find anymore hidding locations Dex headed back to the ship to prepare for the meeting the next day.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

.

The day of the meeting was upon them and it was only a few hours away when the final official briefing began.

.

"Ok in two hours we leave to go meet with the leaders of the local clan of the Zangs. Over the next hour I will meet with each of you individually to discuss the battle plan and what weapon I want you to take with you. When we get to the meeting location I will handle the discussion, you all will be in charge of keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. More than likely they will have numerous traps set for us and I don't want any of them sprung. You each of different talents, strengths and weaknesses and I want to maximize your usefulness –what little you have-, and that is why I will be deciding what weapon you will go in with. Further do not engage in combat unless either myself or one of them attacks first. If you see or suspect something suspicious alert me before you do anything."

.

The final group instructions were set, the briefing was dismissed and the padawans each went to their rooms to begin preparing for what was to come.

* * *

At the meeting the thirteen men stood staring across at a mob of at least 50.

.

"So Sasha tells me you want to talk about the missing senator." The mob leader said stepping forward.

"I'm no fool; I know he's dead, I just want to know who killed him and where the body is."

"We had nothing to do with his disappearance. And I can't imagine why you would suspect my clan would have anything to do with it."

"I never said you did, but since you brought it up; this particular clan has made public threats against him plus whoever is responsible made it look like it was this clan. Now even if it was some other group that did it I know how word travels in the crime world, you know who did it, I guarantee it. And what do you mean your clan? I already know that Sasha is your leader; I'm a Jedi remember?"

.

Dex gave his friend a suspicious look upon hearing Sasha's role within the Zangs.

.

"Stupid Jedi, do you really think we will tell you anything that we may or may not know? I look across from me and a see a pack of Gizka, so tell me why would I share anything with Gizka like you?"

.

A sudden hiss was heard followed by the signature humming of a light saber drawing attention to the one of the padawans.

.

"What did you just call me?" The padawan snarled as he lifted his ligthsaber to a position ready to attack.

.

He didn't wait for a response, in a blink of an eye he flew across the room striking down three of the thugs before anybody could react. It took only a matter of seconds after that for blasters to be drawn. Most of the shorts were focused on him and he was unable to fend off all the shots and was dead in matter of moments.

.

While most shots were aimed at the padawan not all were; many more were aimed across the room at various targets and a battle ensued. Blaster shots were flying in all directions, men dodging shots left and right, clanking of metal swords, thugs coming out of hissing; the sounds of battle filled the room. Buried within in it all was the low hum of a lightsaber cutting through opponents and deflecting blaster shots as its wielder stumbled through battle just trying to survive. His goal of survival was succeeding for the time, but it was getting harder as the battle drew on and more of his men were killed. He had been getting very lucky as the battle continued; several blaster shots had narrowly missed him and if he had stepped half a second later those shots would have killed him. Even a few swords had barely missed his head and survival was getting harder as he was becoming more and more outnumbered.

.

The battle was climaxing, the Zangs numbers were overwhelming; two padwans and Dex were the last of his allies. The four men huddled together in a corner of the room using the only table in the room as a barrier to hide behind. Just when all hope was about to be lost the battle turned; a series of familiar hisses could be heard followed by the low hum of lightsabers, then the shearing sounds of lightsabers against skin and blaster bolts being deflected. A team of twenty or so Jedi came pouring into the room. A mix of Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters worked their way through the battle erasing the overwhelming numerical advantage in a matter of moments. The Zangs were no match for the Jedi team; as soon as they realized that they had lost the upper hand many of them tried to escape only to run into a squad of republic soldiers. Those that couldn't were being backed into a corner. Some through themselves on the mercy of the Jedi and laid down their weapons, others reused to go down and fought to the very end, and still others refusing to be taken by the Jedi smashed a wall sized window and leapt out of it to their death.

.

Finally once the battle was over the remaining Zangs were escorted out in the custody of republic soldiers. The Jedi team began to search the area for any remaining thugs that had managed to evade them thus far. Of all the Jedi that were in the room when the battle was over only two remained behind; a Master and his former Padawan.

.

"What were you thinking? The council told you not to proceed with your plan. Thanks to you we nearly lost the senator."

'Wait, what do you mean "nearly lost"? He's alive?"

"Yes, you were told that this was a rescue mission were you not?"

"I was, but with this guy being so important why wouldn't the council send an elite team to investigate rescue him? Why send a single Jedi Knight and a team of barley trained Padawans?"

"Because that is all that was needed. If you had bothered to actually investigate you would have confirmed that the Zangs were behind it, what they had planned for the Senator, where they were keeping him and who was in the team that carried out the job. He was being held by a small contingent of cheap mercenaries, Gamorians are more effective than what they were using. You and your team were ample for this situation. Did you learn nothing from your time with me? You are a Jedi Knight now; you have the skills, use them. The council can't keep watching over your shoulder and correcting you mistakes, and neither can I. We shouldn't have to."

"The council should have told me about the results of their investigation, instead they omit that. I was led to believe that it produced no results."

"They omitted the results intentionally. They wanted you to conduct your own investigation; to use your skills and teach the padwans a thing or two about tracking. You must learn to trust the judgment of the council, they know what they are doing and do things a certain way for a reason."

"Excuse me Sir." Dex stood in the entrance.

"Yes commander?"

"Master Kasra has asked me to inform you that "she" is not in custody."

"Who is this "she" he's talking about?"

"A female Twelik named Sasha; she was the leader of the team that kidnapped the senator."

.

At the sound of the name Dex's jaw dropped as did his friend's.

.

"I take it you know her."

"Yeah, quite well actually, she and I grew up in the same neighborhood; I taught her much of what she knows."

"Anything else?"

"Well she is more than just the kidnapping team leader, she is the head of the local clan of Zangs."

"Was she here today and just manage to escape us?"

"No, but I I'll catch her and bring her to the council."

"You will do no such thing, you will tell me all you know and I will relay it to the council, and they will give further instruction."

"No, I'll do it; I know how to catch her."

"Again, no you won't. You will go with the commander here back to your ship and await further command. I will handle this."

"Master you don't understand…"

"I said tell me what you know and return to your ship."

"Fine tell Master Jasra I said bye."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"After I tell you what I know you're planning on taking it to the council, they will most likely making finding her a priority and they will have Master Jasra track her since he is the greatest tracker of all the Jedi Masters. By now she knows about what happened in here so the second you showed up she'll have disappeared. She knows how to get lost and not be found. She'll lure her tracker into a trap and unless it's me who enters they'll end up dead."

"I assure you that will not happen. She is a common criminal and can easily be outsmarted."

"Fine, she's no ordinary common criminal and you'll see that. Now let me think; she set up the location and time, she would have known all about the traps and would have hidden someplace she could watch from. As soon as she saw you enter she would have gotten as far away from the fight as she could. As kids whenever one of her traps backfired she headed for the schoolyard…"

.

He closed his eyes and thought about everything he knew about her. He quieted his mind allowing the force to come to him then the force told him what he was searching for.

.

"She's off planet and on her way to Coruscant; she's heading for the actual surface of the planet. Down there is a cantina called the Ravager; nasty joint. If you thought the Mos Eisley Cantina was a bad place you ain't seen nothing yet. This place makes Mos Eisley look like a royal palace. The true lowest of the low will be in there and so will Sasha."

"How can you be sure of this? She plans a trap, it fails and she goes to a cantina on Coruscant? If anything I would think she would fall back and hide inside her base somewhere where she would be secure and have protection."

"That's just it, Master Sora; if it had failed I would be dead. She didn't want to kill me, she knew I was a Jedi and my death would trigger an investigation. She wanted to throw me off the scent. The trap was a backup in case they needed to eliminate me. The trap was failing when you showed up causing it to backfire. Not only now am I alive but I haven't been thrown off the scent like she wanted, and many of her men are either dead or in the custody of the republic. When a trap failed she would retreat, but when it backfired she hid in the most public but secluded location she could get to. As kids that was our school yard; remote and out of the way but a very populated place with something always going on and never anything good. It was a black market, the sort of place she will go to; hard to get to but easy to hide in and protect one's self in."

"Fine, I'll inform the council of what you have told me. You however will return to your ship and stay there until further notice."

.

He turned and left the room with Dex following behind.

.

"So who was that?"

"Jedi Master Bron Sora, my former master and the biggest obstacle that stood between being a Padawan and A Jedi Knight. And still disapproving of every single thing I do and like he always did, and still trying to tell me what to do. He doesn't even have that sort of authority over me anymore and he's trying to boss me around. Making it worse he is an unofficial member of the council; as soon as they decide on a second member he will be elected to it as well. If there ever was a single Jedi I would like to see struck down by a Sith it is him."

"You know there is one other thing I'm wondering; how did you know Sasha's the local gang leader?"

"I'm a Jedi, I used the force to probe her mind."

"And when were you telling me what you had learned?"

"I don't know, I didn't think it was that important so I didn't bother to say anything to you about it."

.

As was his nature he choose to disobey his former master and when he came to the first cantina along his way he began to head in.

.

"Hey aren't we supposed to go back to the ship?"

"Yeah, but I don't care; he's not my master anymore and he's not a member of the council yet. I'm a Jedi Knight not a Padawan; I do have free will."

.

He turned his back on Dex and headed into the cantina. Dex didn't follow; he went back to his ship to await his friend's old master knowing that when he came by it was not going to be very pleasant visit.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

.

Inside the cantina was filled with every form of low life the galaxy had to offer, but he didn't care. He looked at the bar and saw an empty seat and took it. Several rounds passed and the seat next to him opened up and a figure dressed in a dark tunic and a large dark hooded robe quickly filled it. His face was hidden by the hood, the figure signaled to the bartender to bring two of what the man next to him was drinking. The bartender brought the drinks over and the hooded figure motioned to give one to the man sitting next to him.

.

"Look, I appreciate the drink, but I'm not muscle for higher."

.

A deep dark voice replied from inside the hood.

.

"I am not looking for a mercenary; I am in search of one of great power, passion and strength. I seek one with great skill and potential. I have seen such within you."

"Again, I am not a gun for hire."

"An establishment such as this may be an opportune place to find help, but that is not what I seek. One such as yourself I would not expect to find here, but yet it appears as if my search need not continue. Tell me, what do you know of the force?"

"More than you think." He replied shrewdly to the hooded figure sitting next to him before returning to his drink.

"I think you know much just as you surely know the same for me, but yet you do not care that the sworn enemy of your kind is sitting next to you. In such a place to engage me in combat would concern others only for the sakes of entertainment, but you do not draw your blade; you care not that I could easily draw mine and strike you down where you sit. Nor do you care that your mind is completely open to me; you make no attempt to stop me from learning anything I wish about you. Why is this? Could it be the conflict I sense within you? You're torn between an anger driven desire and your Jedi teachings. A Jedi master is walking into a trap that will kill him and you could easily save him if you could only learn of the trap that awaits him. But part of you wants him to walk into it; part of you wants to help her execute the trap more effectively."

"Wow, did you really get all that form my head?"

.

The rhetorical reply was said in a tone that sounded as though he were naive enough to actually be shocked by what the hooded figure sitting next to him had just said; he signaled to the bartender for another drink leaving the one bought for him by the hood figure sitting in front of him; untouched. The bartender poured a refill for him and he quickly began to work on it raising it up to his lips to take a sip.

.

"How would you like the chance to decide this Jedi Master's fait?" He paused with his drink pressed against his lips, "I could help you, I could arrange it so." He set his drink down.

"What?"

"If you choose I can track her and take you to her trap. Let you learn all you can and want to about it."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?"

"You sense it; you know my words to be true just as you know that I do not wish to engage you in combat. You sense it in the force; my words are true, I am not luring you into any sort of trap. I told you what I am in search of and such traits lie within you. If you wish to know more seek me out, you will know where to find me, just use your special connection to the force to find me."

.

The hooded figure got up and departed leaving behind payment for the drinks he had bought.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

.

Hours had passed by with many more drinks being consumed, but still the drink bought for him by the hooded figure remained untouched. He wrestled with the temptation put before him; should he meet with this mysterious figure? Could he be trusted? If he did, what should he do with the knowledge that he gains from it? What fait awaited Master Jasra? He couldn't be sure of the answer to any of his troubling questions, but the force was telling him that the mysterious figure could be trusted, but how could he tell such a thing through the force, it wasn't possible to know absolutes through the force, or so he had been told.

.

He had never heard of such an ability and whenever he tried to discuss it with any Jedi Master –council member or not- they always said that such an ability didn't exist, and if it did it would be a trait of the darkside of the force. No matter how many times he was told such he never could accept it; he knew what he was capable of, or at least that is what he told himself he had to believe. Many nights as a Padawan he wrestled with it, if he did poses such an ability and it was a trait of the darkside how could he keep from using it, most of the time the truth of a beings words, actions, or intent just came to him without him looking for such.? Would using it even lead him down a path to the dark side?

.

Finally he picked up the drink that had been sitting in front of him for so long.

.

"Can't hurt to investigate." He muttered under his breath as he quickly drank it.

.

Leaving behind payment for his extensive bar tab he stumbled back to his ship.

"Well, well, look at what we have here; a drunken Jedi." Dex laughed as he watched his friend stumble onto the ship.

"I suppose Master Sora has been looking for me."

"He stopped by; in fact he looked the ship over before he left. I don't think he cared for your decorations; vibroblades stuck in a wall must not fit his tastes, nor do smashed holo projectors."

"Not surprising, he objects to everything I do. He'd probably object to me having a picture of my parents in my quarters. Although that just might be because he's jealous that I had parents to raise me; his got killed when he was little more than a year old. The Jedi took him in and raised him like they used to do ages ago."

"Well I'm supposed to inform you that the council wants to speak with you as soon as we return to Corrisant."

"Joy."

.

Dex shook his head at the lack luster response from his friend.

.

"Well you could have spoken with them from right here on the ship, but as luck would have it you smashed our holo projector."

"I wouldn't have been able to see them anyway; in fact I look at what I think is you and I see four or five blurry objects. I relied on the force to get me back here."

"Go lie down and sleep it off then. I'll get us back to Corrisant."

* * *

An old run down building; it didn't look like anything but it was a cantina (sort of); The Ravager. Founded during the time of the old republic when Revan and Malik battled the Mandalorians only to turn their back on and betray both the Republic and the Jedi order. The ship for which the Cantina was named flew during the Mandalorian wars. The cantina's founder served aboard the ship as a solider of the Republic before abandoning his post shortly before the ships fateful trip to Malechor V where it was destroyed only to be resurrected by a Sith Lord who was hunting down an exiled Jedi who he believed to be the last of the Jedi.

.

Little else was known about the cantina's original owner; rumors on the other hand were numerous. Most believed that the war had driven him mad and that the madness drove him to sell the place off and shortly afterwards to kill himself right in the middle of the cantina with the new owner watching. Since then every owner of the cantina eventually went insane, sold off the place and killed themselves. The Ravager had a history of driving not only it's owners to insanity but many of its employees and visitors went were driven insane for no apparent reason other than the place itself. It drew in the worst of the worst and the lowest of the low. Many beings claimed to feel something wrong with the place whenever they were near it and something very wrong when inside; though what they could not say.

.

Jedi Master Romis Jasra; a council member and known for his exceptional tracking skills, the council had voted to make it his task to track down and capture Sahsa. As he looked at the Ravager he knew nothing of the place's history or reputation, but he didn't need to, he could feel what all the others felt; it was the darkside of the force. He could feel the dark side pulsing stronger than anything he had ever felt before. He felt unsure if he should enter; he was indeed a leading member of the Jedi Council, but that was only because of the time he had served on the council and his talents. His connection to the force was not the strongest and he felt the darkside so strongly form outside; he could only imagine inside and the influence it could have on him. He took a small holo projector out of his pocket and activated in hope of contacting the rest of the council. Being so far down below the streets and being on the opposite side of the planet as the temple all he could get was static. He decided to go in but first he needed to make a record incase something should happen to him while in the cantina.

.

"This is Jedi Master Romis Jasra, I am a leading member of the Jedi Counicl. I am in pursuit of an organized crime syndicate faction leader; my lead had brought me to this place. If this holocron is found return it to the Jedi Council so they may see the message I am recording. To the Jedi Council, I have found the cantina called the Ravager; the darkside surrounds the place. It is stronger than anything I have never felt before and I am approximately 100 meters from the establishment; I can only imagine the pull and influence it could have on me once inside. I have tried contacting you to seek your advice, but I am too far from the temple to contact you. I have reason to believe that she may be on to me. If she is in there I must go in now or lose her trail. I urge you should you see this message to proceed with extreme caution when investigating my fate. I can not sense anything but the darkside as I stand here now recording this message. If I should fall to the darkside or should be killed I herby as my final action as a member of the Jedi Council cast a vote for a new member to be added to the council. That vote is for Jedi Master Bron Sora. He is head strong but that is something you are able to work with him on. He is wise and talented, his connection to the force is a strong one, very few have I felt it stronger with; as you know my connection is not the strongest but if I can feel it that strongly it must mean something."

.

Form a distance another figure looked on and watched patiently as Master Jasra finished his recording and took out a comlink from his pocket. He watched unable to tell what the Jedi Master was saying but quickly realized when a droid approached him. He couldn't tell the model but it didn't matter, just some random bipedal droid; probably a protocol droid. The Jedi Master gave the droid the recording he had just made and headed in to the cantina and the droid turned and walked away.

.

"I thought he'd never go in with the presence of the darkside being so strong. Now I just wait for him to come back out. I wonder how long it will take for Sasha to spot him?"

.

He quickly got his answer as he spotted her running out of the cantina's main doors looking over her shoulder periodically.

.

"Master Jasra, I'm disappointed in you. You didn't even last a full minute before she saw you. I'd follow her myself and do what you can't but she is on high alert and will spot anybody following her right now; no matter how good they are. Plus I have a meeting to get to inside this place. Well I guess I'll have to wait for him to come out before I can start tracking her; at least she'll make it easy on me with the trail she'll surely leave for Master Jasra."

.

He stayed hidden form sight for a while watching the various beings of all types go in and out. he had never seen some of the species he saw and never heard of others that he saw. It was truly amazing to him what could be found on the true surface of Corrisant. He even stood by and watched as a Nemodian came flying out the doors landing hard on the ground, followed by a raging Wookie.

.

The Wookie stood over the cowering Nemodian growling loudly and fiercely. To all that were in range to here him the Wookies bellows were clear as day.

.

"Please I just need a few more days. I just need to sell a few things and I'll have your money for you." The cowering Nemodian begged of the Wookie.

_You'll pay me my money now. I saw you with Sasha; I know you collected that bounty and you didn't earn it. But since you have the money you owe me now I'll take it and let whoever owns that bounty take care of you._

"No, it's not like that; she was paying me back for some drinks I baught her."

_LIAR!_

"Ok, I was told to collect it and bring the money to him."

_You expect me to believe that somebody would be stupid enough to trust a Nemodian to collect a bounty for them._

"Well I collected that one bounty for you."

_No, you stole that bounty from me. I didn't have you collect it for me, and you still haven't given me my money for it. So I will just take the money from the bounty you just collected and let somebody else deal with you._

"You don't understand, he'll kill both you and me if I you take that bounty from me."

_No bounty hunter is going to come after me just because I took the money from a bounty you stole. They'll come after you._

"He will, he's no ordinary bounty hunter; he's a droid. He doesn't reason like you at all. He's totally irrational, he doesn't even make sense; kept calling the target that he killed a meat bag."

_Droids don't scare me; now give me my credits or I'll rip your head off._

"No wait, I can help you collect an even bigger bounty. There's a Jedi Master in there with a huge price on his head. I can help you kill him."

_Your pathetic lies are only going to make your death more painful._

"There is some truth to what he says."

.

The Wookie and Nemodian looked towards the nearby shadows where the voice came from to see a human male walking towards them.

.

"There is a Jedi Master in there; I saw him go in. In fact I'm waiting for him to come back out before I can go in; but there is no bounty on him. Chances are he could walk out here right now and see you two like this and he'll stay out of it. Even if he would care I doubt it will be an issue. If I know him well enough he'll be in there for a while still leaving you and your new friend here plenty of time to settle things or for you to rip his limbs off."

.

The Nemodian looked at him for a moment then recognized the man he saw before him. They had grown up in the same neighborhood, and over the years the Nemodian had gotten himself into trouble frequently and bailed out by his childhood friend that now stood looking on at him and the Wookie that was threatening him.

.

"It can't be…"

"Oh yes, it's me, and I'm flattered you remember me. What's it been, like five years? We'll I guess some things never change, you're still ripping off others. As I recall you still owe me from back when we were kids, plus when I bailed you out by paying off that Hutt Lord who wanted to feed you to his Ranchors. As I recall that set be back a few thousand credits; and what do you know, I haven't seen a single credit from you."

"Oh, see, um… If you take care of this Wookie for me I'll pay you back everything I owe you."

"No, I don't think so. In fact I think I'll stand back and watch ass your Wookie friend here rips you apart limb by limb."

"But, but… you're a Jedi aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm still a Jedi; in fact I'm a Jedi Knight now, but I think watching you get ripped apart will be enough payment to balance your debt. And now that I think about it I may have a job for your Wookie friend here." He turned to the Wookie, "I need to meet somebody in there, but I can't go in while that Jedi Master is in there; I don't want him to know I'm anywhere close to here. What I want you to do when you're done here is to go in there and find the Jedi Master, I advise to arrange it so that he accidentally bumps into you. Let your Wookie temper flare up at him and he will apologize and explain hwy he is in there. He's looking for the same Sasha your Nemodian friend here collect a bounty from. Tell the Jedi Master that you saw her leave. Since you seem like an opportunist you could even put a price on that information if you want. I'm betting he'll pay your price if you don't set it to high. He'll leave to track her and that is all you have to do. And to ensure you are willing to do something that is so far beneath you I will pay you quite well upfront." He gave the Wookie a small satchel, "I think you'll find the money in there to be more than enough for the job I'm asking you to do."

.

The Wookie looked inside then back at the human.

_._

_And what of him?_ He motioned towards the Nemodian still cowering on the ground.

"Do with him what you like, although personally I wouldn't ,mind watching you rip him into tiny pieces."

_Fine, I'll get rid of your Jedi Master for you, but after I take care of this scum._

"Please, no, I beg you?"

_The time for begging is over._

_._

**A/N: I want to make sure the difference between a normal Jedi's ability to sense the force and my character's ability is clear. Most Jedi can "sense" the force. They sense a persons presence, danger coming**... **My character takes the standard ability to the next level**; **he can "hear" the force. He can hear where a person is at, what sort of danger is coming and when; he can hear a beings true intent or actions. I will be exploring and explaining his ability a little bit in a later chapters.  
**

**Also for those of you who maybe be suspecting who the droid is that the Nemodian is collecting a bounty for, yes it is him; yes he still exists, and he will be appearing in the story mutch later on (I just need to figure out how and when to bring him in).  
**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

.

"I knew you would come." It was the same deep dark voice he had herd in the cantina on Nar Shada.

"I'm interested. You say you can show me the trap; I want to see it."

"But you do not know what you want to do with that information; I still sense that conflict within you."

"Just take me to it."

.

An hour later the two stood atop a building overlooking a short dark dead end alley. In front of the alley a team of men under the supervision of Sasha set and buried mines.

.

"So that is her plan; overload his senses. She'll lure him into the alley, meet him face to face and after a bit of banter she'll toss a fake grenade at him. He'll repel it back at her and as soon as he make a move to do so she'll draw her blaster and open fire. He'll dodge and deflect the shots as she positions him right at the edge of the mines. When he least expects it she'll intentionally miss him and hit the mines setting off all of them. With as many mines as she is planting it will overwhelm his senses and he'll leap over her planning to land and push her back into the exploding mines. That is what she wants him to do though; she'll be ready for that and as soon as he lands she'll strike him dead. Knowing Sasha I'd say she'll use a force pike; the ultimate irony in her mind."

"You know now of the plan but are still unsure of what to do. Allow me to ease your troubles, go and tell the Jedi council of what you have learned and how to prepare for it and save Master Jasra."

"They'll never listen to me, they never have and never will."

"Do you not owe it to him to at least try? If you choose to do nothing are you not passing judgment and sentencing him to death? Go tell your council of the trap, tell them of me if you wish. I shall wait here and watch to see what path they choose to take. What I see will tell me of your destiny."


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

.

Inside the council chambers seven of the eight Jedi Masters that made up the council at that time gathered alone. Sato Chaar, the greatest swords man of his time. Tale Lana, the greatest teacher in history of the Jedi order; it was rumored that he had once taught a Hutt Lord to feel and use small bits of the force. Trig Kasra, a great military strategist. Dunn Kaar, the oldest member of the council; a few other Jedi were older but only he had been granted the title of Jedi Master. Waryn Sken, known for his connection to the force; he could sense it in the smallest of things living and not. Gallon Cora, a charismatic individual; whenever the Jedi Order needed to address the senate he was the one to speak. Aarm Jast, a historian; he had studied all that could be found about the Jedi Order, Republic and the force. It was a rare occasion that the council all gathered in person for official reasons and an even rarer occasion when the would meet on official business with out its full body of members, but this occasion called for both. Romis Jasra, the final member of the council was supposedly in great danger; the council needed to decide how to react .

.

"How did he come across this information?" Master Jast asked.

"He says he disobeyed our orders for him to come to us and tracked her on his own and found her setting the trap that I told you about." Master Chaar responded.

"Has Master Jasra reported back yet?" Master Lana asked.

"When he reported in last he had been led on a wild Bantha chase. He investigated the establishment and found nothing but a strong presence of the darkside. However he found the trail on his own and was tracking her. We haven't heard or been able to contact him since." Master Kaar replied.

"This doesn't make any sense, this supposed trap is in no way efficient and it is not the style of The Zangs." Master Kasra declared.

"Is it fair to say that just because you and I are Jedi Masters that you prefer the same battle strategies that I prefer? No, you prefer more unorthodox strategies that are extremely precise and controlled. I on the other hand prefer to just go in swinging. Just because we share a common trait doesn't mean we share the same thoughts and methods. She is a Zang, yes; but just because she is doesn't mean she will stick solely to their methods and not use other methods." Master Chaar's words made Master Kasra stop and think.

"I see your point, even still being a member of The Zangs there a certain tactics that she will use, just as being a member of the Jedi Council means I would rather find a peaceful solution to a conflict rather than combat."

"When he stood before us with this information I sensed the dark side around him. He has been in contact with a Sith :Lord; Master or Apprentice though I can not tell, but since he has chosen to omit this I feel it is safe to say that the contact he had was not through combat." Master Sken thought out loud as he took a seat and began to meditate.

"Could it be this Sith that he has been in contact with is a fallen Jedi who wants to come back?" Master Lana asked.

"No, it is widely known we would not turn our backs on a Stih or any dark force user who has seen the error of his ways and wants to come back to the Jedi Order. There would be no need to hide this Sith away from us even if he is only trying to convert him back to our side." Master Jast noted.

"Master Kasra says that this strategies is inconsistent with the circumstances and she would have to be the largest fool in the galaxy to even try to kill him. She must know that we would feel his death and that it would gain our full attention. She would not be able to hide from the full effort of the council and the rest of the Jedi Masters. Personally I think she knows of the dark influence that is surrounding him and has used it to trick him into thinking that Master Jasra is in danger." Master Chaar declared.

"I also must agree that this is a false threat," Master Jast began, "History has shown that the combined efforts of powerful Jedi such as ourselves are nearly impossible to defeat. When order 66 was issued the Jedi of the time were separated from each other and spread throughout the galaxy. They were unable to untie and defeat Palpatine. On top of that Master Jasra is a skilled tracker and hunter, he can take care of himself and would know how to avoid falling into a trap."

"Not if the darkside clouds his judgment. Master Sken has felt the presence of a Sith Lord; that is who is setting a trap. Feed us false information to send us off chasing the wrong foe while Master Jasra is lured into combat against a Sith Lord." Master Kaar proposed.

"Sounds just like the Sith to me, in fact now that I think about it I believe that is how my old master was killed. He was led down a path believing he was only a single step behind a notorious crime lord that he had been tracking only to come face to face with a Sith Lord. He escaped that battle but his injuries were fatal. If this is indeed a trap set by a Sith Lord we must act quickly." Master Lanna added.

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While the debate continued on Master Sken had been sitting in a quiet meditation.

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"The darkside was not the only thing I sensed when he stood before us." Master Sken finally spoke, "He is trying to hide it but it snuck through, He has a great anger inside of him and I suspect it is directed at us. This anger is creating a great conflict within him. He believes what he has told us to be the truth; he was unsure however of what to do with his information, tell us or keep it from us. His anger and conflict are great and I need not remind us that anger leads down the path to the darkside. I feel we owe it to him to investigate ourselves; if only to calm his anger."

"And so it comes to me," Master Cora had been standing back and taking it all in and trying to figure it all out, "This is why we have been keeping an even number of members on the council for the last several centuries. No single being should be responsible for deciding the fate of another. If we investigate this trap we can not be here to protect our won. If we take no action we may have sentenced Master Jasra to death. Master Lanna, at the time of your old master's death Master Jasra was his Padwan. He knows now the signs of a Sith trap. In addition Master Jasra was lured into a Sith trap barley a week after he took the trails. He was able to defeat the Sith Lord that lured him in and now he is a Jedi Master, he can take care of himself. As for the dark taint that we feel surrounding this, I feel that it is the true trap. This Sith Lord must know we would sense his taint and presence; he wants us to sense him. No effort was made to hide his connection to this, he is announcing his presence; he's provoking us. To follow his taint is to obey his will and enter a trap blindly. The nature of the taint though is unusual, it makes me unsure of the intent. When I try to follow it through logically I come to a trap, and we know that the Sith are not always logical. But if I must decide then may the force be with Master Jasra; I can find nothing in the force that cries out to me that he is in trouble. I feel taking no action is the appropriate move. However, if we are wrong we must be prepared; the consequences of our actions will be great and not just the loss of a Jedi Master and council member."

"We vote then, Master Chaar how do you vote?"

"I vote no action."

"Master Lana?"

"I vote to take action."

"Master Kasra?"

"Nothing about this makes any sense to me. We must stay as we are and be ready incase a true problem arises. I vote no action."

"Very well, Master Sken, your vote?"

"No action will lead to even greater consequences than if we look into this matter further. I vote to take action against this possible threat."

"Master Cora I will return to you since you are still troubled with how to vote. Master Jast, how do you vote?"

"I feel this to be a false threat. I vote no action?"

"I myself feel the need to investigate this further and therefore tie the vote. Master Cora I had hoped the vote would go differently and you would not be placed in such a position, but you must cast the deciding vote."

"Master Kaar I thank you for the gesture and hold nothing against any of the members of this council for placing me in such a position. We all most vote as we feel appropriate and it was the will of the force that I be placed in such a position. With that may the force be with us as we feel the repercussions; I vote no action."

"Very well, by a vote of four to three we the Jedi Council decide to take no action against this supposed trap that threatens to be the end of Jedi Master Romis Jasra."

"Master Sken, might I recommend that we summon Master Sora? His former Padawan will not take lightly to our decision and I fear he may act rashly. Master Sora can watch over him and help to calm him and heal the wound he surely will feel."

"Good idea, Master Cora, I shall send for him at once."

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Master Sken opened the doors to the Council chambers only to find the remains of a protocol droid scattered on the floor and scorch marks form a light saber.

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"My friends it would appear we are to late. He must have been outside the doors listening in to us. I will check the security logs to be sure, but we need to be ready to react at a moments notice. It would appear that he is doing just as Master Cora has predicted. We can not be sure of what he'll do."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

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"You return to me seeking answers, yes?"

"Why is it you have shown this to me, why is it you wanted me to take this information back to the council? What do you want from me?"

"You needed to see the council for what they really are; blind, foolish, arrogant. They fear your ability, they tell you it doesn't exist, that it is a tool of the darkside. Did they ever tell you why?"

"No."

"To know true intent, true action is to know absolute. The Jedi do not believe in such a thing; they fear it for they feel it takes away free will. To know one's absolutes is to control them. The truth is that it doesn't take away free will; your ability gives free will to you. The control that it grants creates free will; when you were debating over Master Jasra's fait you had control over it."

"But the end result was the same."

"Yes, but the control you had gave you free will to create a chance to save him. It also gave you the chance to sentence him to death. You needed to take it to the council to create that chance for him to be saved, you are not yet ready to be solely responsible for another's fait."

"You still haven't said what you want with me."

"You're powers of perception are quite sharp but you can not tell if I am Master or Apprentice."

"Well if I had to guess I'd say you're the Apprentice."

"What makes you think such?"

"A Sith Master would only show this much interest in a Jedi if he was in need of a new Apprentice or sensed a power greater than his own. An Apprentice would be searching for potential; one who he could teach and take as his own Apprentice and use to overthrow his Master. Back on Nar Shada you said that you were seeking potential."

"It seems I have underestimated you. You're perception is far more adapt than I realized; I did not expect you to reason it out so quickly and so well or to get it correct. I am indeed the Apprentice. I am Darth Danis, Apprentice to Darth Sanis. I have learned all he knows with out him realizing it and know more than he will ever. I hide now in his shadow waiting for my time to strike. He has shown weakness and shouldn't even be allowed to call himself a Sith Lord. I have been in search of my own Apprentice for some time now and have found nothing but weakness in all potential beings. Now that I have found you I finally see great power and potential."

"You wish to make me your Apprentice?"

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He pondered this for a moment.

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"The Jedi have constantly been trying to hold me back, many even mocked me for not being allowed to take the trails. They tried to control me and doubted my skills and tried to tell me my ability didn't exist."

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He paused second time thinking over all he had been through with the Jedi.

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"No more; I am done with them. I want them dead; all of them. Teach me the ways of the darkside, teach me what I must know in order to bring them down; your search for an Apprentice is now over."

"Is it? How can you be certain? You are the first that I have found with any potential, but I may still want to search for one with even greater potential."

"Go ahead, search, find as many as you would like; I'll kill them all."

"You're first lesson is now complete, to gain power you must eliminate all those that stand in your way. Now if you truly wish to be my Apprentice kneel before me."

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Doing as he was told he knelt before the mysterious figure who was removing his hood to reveal his identity.

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"You are no longer a Jedi. The name you carried is gone." The mysterious figure took out his lightsaber and knighted his new Apprentice. "Arise now Rächen, Dark Lord of the Sith."

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Rächen stood up; seeing for the first time the identity of his new Master he was filled with shock and surprise.

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"You seem surprised to learn that I am an Evocii."

"I thought your species was extinct; erased from the galaxy by the Hutts."

"Our numbers are few, but we survive still in secret. The Hutts believed us extinct, thus leading the republic to believe the same. Much was lost when the republic fell and Sidious ruled and that further solidified the belief that my race was no more. As you can see however we are not. We hid in the depths of what is now known as Nar Shada; surviving, evolving, leaving no trace of our existence for fear that if we were discovered we would be forced back into our roles as slaves or killed by the Hutts. Those that live hide in the dark shadowy corners of the galaxy. It is there that you can find all that is believed to be lost. As a Sith Lord you must no longer allow yourself to be surprised by anything you see or learn; the force is a mysterious element that allows anything to happen. To be surprised is to be unprepared for what you face."

"Yes Master, it will not happen again."

"Very well; come now, let us watch, Master Jasra enters the trap."

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They looked down at the alley; Master Jasra made his way in with extreme caution. He stopped just before the hidden mine field and called upon the force as he leapt over the minefield with a single mighty leap.

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"She's gotten sloppy, he knows about the trap. It is disappointing really, I taught her so many things and she repays me like this. She'll have to pay the price for getting so sloppy." Rächen thought aloud.

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Down in the alley Master Jasra reached out with the force to feel what was around him, but could only feel a large amount of dark energy and the presence of Sasha. He credited the dark energy to Sasha guessing she spent a lot of time in the Leviathan and it must have imbedded itself within her.

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"What's wrong Jedi, can't sense anyone around but me? Don't tell me you honestly think the mines were the trap. They're nothing but a distraction; they're giving off enough energy to power a land speeder. Making it all the better that dark force energy you feel, it is coming form the mines; they were constructed by the Sith. So between the regular energy they give off and the dark energy they are emitting you can't sense a thing can you. The only thing you feel is my presence and nothing more." Sasha walked out of the shadows; a cloak around her shoulders hiding her weapons.

"I may not be able to sense your thugs but I know exactly where they are hiding. I saw you setting up this nice little trap. And my senses are sharp enough to be able to defend myself without the use of the force."

"You fool, did you think I really got this sloppy and screwed up allowing you to find me and my trap? I lured you here and let you see my false trap. Now you are in the real one and are as good as dead."

"We Shall see about that."

"Then draw your Lightsaber Jedi; only one of us is leaving this alley alive."

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Master Jasra unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and activated it assuming a defensive position. Sasha on the other hand brushed aside her cloak and brandished a double bladed staff.

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"Do you really think that thing is going to hold up against a lightsaber?"

"For a Jedi you are pretty cock and stupid. My staff was made special; made purely from the finest Cortosis the galaxy has to offer. I over saw the creation of this staff from when the Cortosis was mined right through the construction of the staff which I designed myself. This is exactly what I designed it for; killing Jedi."

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Sasha lunged forward with a melee of attacks. Master Jasra suddenly found himself dueling with a formidable opponent. Her skills with a blade were equal to his own; better even. He blocked her attacks as they came at him but Sasha's style was so aggressive he couldn't hold his ground and was forced to back up. Defending himself was all he was capable of; her attacks were to fast and at times they seemed to come form two different locations at the same time, he had no chance to go on the attack. She pushed him back t within a half step of the mine field. As he reached the edge he called upon the force and leapt clear over her head and charged at her. He was able to make a couple of attacks before he had to surrender the offensive and return to defense as she blocked his attack but came at him from another angle at the same time with a mighty attack. He returned to the defensive. and was pushed back down the alley. In his tracking her he had found the alley and saw the mines being set but hadn't explored the alley; it was a dead end. A wall at the back of it closed in on him quickly and like he had done before he called upon the force and leapt over her head twisting in mid air to face her when he landed quickly charging at her again. The result was the same; he went on the attack only to quickly loose it and have to go back to defending himself. Down the alley and back they battled; the most intense dual Master Jasra had been ever been involved in or seen. Between her aggressive style and flawlessness in execution of her technique Sasha maintained the advantage; it was all master Jasra could do to defend himself successfully and stay alive. After many lengths of the alley he began to settle into a rhythm; he was beginning to understand her style and technique. There was a pattern to it, a rhythm of repetition; strategies began to form in his mind. Numerous moves would have worked, one just as easily and effective as the next, finally his time to strike was at hand. As he was pushed down the alley towards the wall he waited before leaping over her, he waited till he was backed up against the wall before leaping up and pushing off of the wall. The push off was light though; he dropped down right in front of Sasha who was ready and waiting for him as she blocked his attack and quickly countered before he could gain an advantage with her cornered. Master Jasra was forced to return to the defensive, but with an added element; the attack pattern had changed and a few additional moves were thrown in, he was back where he started from.

As the dual went on Sasha's attacks became more aggressive and Master Jasra was running out of options rapidly. After a few more lengths of the alley he was being pushed back towards the wall; like so many times before he leapt into the air. This time he made his jump shallow, just enough to go over top of Sasha's head. She was ready for this though, she had rolled backwards and was already on her feet when the Jedi Master landed and didn't waste any time and went right back on the attack. Master Jasra leapt up again and pushed off the wall landing at the other end of the alley. Again he charged at her gaining the advantage momentarily only to again lose as he had done so many times before. Again he found himself on the defensive barley holding on as her attacks became quicker, stronger, more aggressive and the attack sequence again changed with additional moves thrown into the mix. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes; one slip, one miss step, one stumble, one delayed block and she would finish him off. They battled down and back over and over again, the longer it went on the stronger Sasha seemed to get. The minefield was obstructing his use of the force, with so much energy; dark energy and a strong dark presence that he attributed to the mines he couldn't fully sense the force and allow it to guide him. He was becoming desperate, he didn't know how much longer he could hold on. Summoning every last ounce of the force he could he surrendered to it allowing it to fight for him while he retreated within his own mind contemplating how he could get out of his current predicament.

Finally it came to him; returning to his conscious self he battled down the alley and back a few more times. He finally saw his time to strike, he approached the wall and leapt up, pushed off the wall with enough force to land clear at the other end of the alley; right at the edge of the mine field. He landed and took a defensive stance wanting for Sasha to come to him. She charged at him but before she could make a single attack he called upon the force and leapt clean over her head with the intent to land right in front of the wall at the other end of the alley. His intent was to throw a small object into the mine field setting it off; destroying it thus removing a large obstacle that blocked his use of the force. Then with a full use of the force he would be no match for her. Sasha had other plans though; as Master Jasra flew through the air and it all happened within a single second but with his limited use of the force it all appeared to him in slow motion. He saw her twist the handle of her staff and separate it into two pieces. Suddenly he realized how it was every time he had gained the advantage she was able to take it back; she would split her staff and come at him from another angle with the second half. She clearly had been extremely subtle and clever about doing so to make sure that he wouldn't see it in the process allowing her to catch him off guard maximizing the element of surprise. He was truly impressed but had no time to fully grasp what had transpired already as what little he could hear the force told him that as soon as he landed there would be a blade coming straight at him that he would be unable to block. Sasha spun around to face where he was to land and threw them at where the Jedi master was to land. Calling upon the force Master Jasra altered his course and position just enough o survive to the deadly blades flying at him. He landed just as he wanted; the spilt second had come and gone with much happening within it. No sooner had Sasha thrown the blades of her staff she tossed aside her cloak revealing a belt with a variety of blades of size and shape attached to it. She began grabbing them off her belt and throwing them with deadly accuracy at where the Jedi Master was going to be.

No sooner did Master Jasra's feet tough the ground he saw a flurry of blades coming at him. He was able to deflect them, some with his lightsaber others with the force, but before he could realize what was happening he was deflecting a mix of blades and grenades. The bombardment of grenades became heavier, he was deflecting them in all directions and through the explosions he caught glimpses of Sasha and could see no blades left on her. He could have continued deflecting the grenades for as long as she could throw them but he needed to end the battle before something went wrong. Calling on the force one last time he leapt into the air with the intent of ending the battle. Sasha watched his movement carefully and grabbed two final vibro blades that she had hidden on her back. As Master Jasra came down with his lightsaber she dodged out of the way at the last possible moment and as soon as he landed she stuck both into his chest. The pain from the attack caused him to pause momentarily allowing Sasha to shove him forward into the minefield. She leapt backwards with great might and ease as the Jedi Master landed in the mine field setting it off. Sasha's leap was just like what Master Jasra had been doing during their fight; now she stood at the back of the alley watching as the minefield went off.

The battle was over. When the debris cleared all that was left was the Jedi master's light saber; badly damaged and inoperable in its current condition she picked it up to keep as a trophy from the Jedi Master she had just killed.

Back up on the roof top across the way the two sith had stood watching the battle.

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"I'm not surprised; I always knew she had the capability to pull off such an elaborate trap I just never saw her actually do it successfully when we were growing up. And her combat skills are amazing, but what I do not understand how it is that until I watched this battle I could not sense her connection to the force."

"She has a unique ability; while few others share your ability fewer still share hers. She has the ability to hide her connection form others, but in doing so she essentially cuts herself off from the force and can not use it. When she met with you that is what she had done, that is why you did not sense it until now. It is not an ability the Jedi would teach or encourage; to have a connection to the force and cut it, they do not see the practicality of it. What you have witnessed is the power of the dark side. Deception to lure a foe into a false sense of security and destroy the security they feel as a way of destroying them. Master Jasra believed he knew what his opponent was capable of, he believed he knew what she planed; it was through the use of the darkside that she was able to make him believe such and defeat him."

"What is this ability that you say I have, I have no knowledge of any special abilities related to the force."

"It is your perception that places you above others; you can tell things that others can not. Surely you sensed two distinct energies being given off by the mines, one was the energy of the mines themselves, tell me what was the other."

"It was powerful, dark… it was the darkside of the force, but how?"

"That is what your ability can tell you, listen to the force, let it speak to you like it did when we first met and you knew I was not there to fight you."

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Rächen closed his eyes and focused on the mines trying to find an answer, a few monets passed then it came to him.

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"The energy I felt was synthetic, it wasn't actually the force I felt, they were giving off an energy that feels and sounds just like the darkside of the force."

"Very good, you're ;learning to use your ability very well. The Sith have developed an energy that when allowed to radiate can easily be mistaken for the darkside of the force. Unfortunately it provides no extra power for us to draw upon, it is merely a false beacon. It is only with time and practice can ordinary force sensitive beings determine the difference. However beings such as yourself need not the time and training to tell the difference. It is through your ability that you hear what the energy is."

"What is this ability that I have that you refer to so often?"

"You feel the force just the same as the Jedi, but you can sense more, you have a greater ability. While the Jedi "feel" the force and allow it to "guide them" you can "read and listen" to the force; you allow it to tell you what you want to know.

"I understand how it is different but not how it is better."

"You need not allow the force to guide you blindly. Had you ever heard of the Leviathan before meeting me there?"

"Now that I think about it, no."

"Tell me then, how did you know where to find me?"

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Rächen traced his thoughts for a moment, he traced them back to the moment he first looked upon the place. He had heard of the ship that it was named after, he had read about it in the archives; he knew nothing of the cantina or how to find it but was able to find just the same with out doing any form of research about the place. He pondered his master's words, "…you allow it to tell you what you want to know." Those words echoed through his thoughts until he finally understood what they mean exactly.

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"The force told me; it told me the name of the place and how to find it. To already know is to be prepared for what you face."

"Precisely, none before you have possessed this skill to the degree that you do; not even myself. Now Lord Rächen let us depart this place, I shall answer all your questions and tell you of my plan when we are aboard my ship."

.

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**A/N**: **Now I did request that reviews acttually be informative but I would appreciate any bfeedback about this chapter that I can get. The more informative the better but I would like to know what readers think about how I did with this battle scene.**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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Jedi master Gallon Cora sat alone in his private chambers meditating when he felt it. A sudden echo reverberated through the force; an echo filled with pain and then went silent. A buzzer sounded indicating a guest approaching his chambers. He waved his hand and the door slid open allowing Master Kaar entry.

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Words were not needed, they both had felt it and knew what it meant.

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"The consequences of this will be great." Master Cora stated simply and calmly.

"I sense a war coming; if this was the work of a sith it is only matter of time before they strike."

"and if it is not the sith then it will be a civil war. Word is already spreading of our debate and decision. While it is more complicated than this it will be seen as we ignored vital information that led to the death of one of our own."

"Either way darkness is falling, new threats and powers are approaching; the Jedi will be their target."

"We must begin to mobilize; the darkside is fueling this war."

"Worse is we do not have time to add a new member to the council properly."

"True; with war coming decisions must be made, action must be taken. Debate will inevitably lead to our down fall as it did so long ago with the Mandalorian War. Decisions are our only way to survive."


	15. Chapter 14

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**A/N: I would like to withdrawal my early request of regarding reviews. After having the story posted here for about a month now and having 13 chapters before this posted and not having any reviews submitted (or anyone adding me to an alert list, story, author or otherwise) I have become desperate, even the simple comments tell me if I'm doing something wrong**. **Also I wish to further expand on my original disclaimer. As I am starting to bring in (and have mentioned a few) characters that are not mine I wish to make it clear that they are not of my own creation. The following names of characters are not mine, I do no won the rights to these characters: Revan, Malik, Dessel, Bane, Anakin Skywalker****, Darth Vade, Sidious**** and Maul. As more are intorduced I will expand upon this disclaimer. Any names that you don't see mentioned are characters I have created.  
**

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**Part II: The Rise**

Chapter 14

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The two Sith made their way back to Danis' ship. Along the way questions raced threw Rächen's head; was it truly his ability that had attracted his master to him? Was this some sort of set-up, in his time as a Jedi he had spent considerable amounts of time studding the archives learning all he could. Numerous times he had read about Sith Lords taking on a secret apprentice only to be using the apprentice as a pawn in their game with no real intent of using them to overthrow their master. No matter how he tried he could find nothing in the force that told him of his masters true intent. Among the other concerns were the fact that he was given the title of Dark Lord of the Sith; how was it he was already worthy of such a title? Many questions raced threw his head with no answer.

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Finally they arrived at the ship and boarded. Finally once securely in a hyperspace route Danis and Rächen gathered in the main room of the ship.

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"You are no doubt filled with questions but first let me tell you of my plan, in it you may find some of your answers. My Master is week, he is undeserving of being called a Sith. He seeks to rebuild what was once called the Brotherhood of Darkness. In it all are equal, there is none higher or better than another, no Masters, no Apprentices, or otherwise. All Sith lords would be equal, all would share the power of the dark side. The highest and most powerful Sith would be equal to and share the power of the dark side with the lowest least powerful of the Sith. My Master believes that our strength is in numbers alone, the more we have the more powerful we are; therefore he is willing to bring any member of the Sith in even those with no connection to the force such as a simple solider. He is wrong, while there is strength in numbers to share the power with the weak only weakens us. Power should only be shared with the powerful. He will soon begin to gather all the Sith together and recreate the Brotherhood of Darkness. When he does we will strike, we will destroy him and purge the Brotherhood of those unworthy to share in the power. Then You and I will lead the brotherhood and the Sith into a new era and destroy the Jedi and republic for good."

"I have never heard of this Brotherhood of Darkness yet you say it is to be re-created."

"The Brotherhood was formed long ago. It was nearly 10,000 years ago now since their time. They were united and strong as were the Jedi who united to stand against them. With time both sides had drawn even and a final conflict came upon them. Ruusan was the sight where the war drew to a close. The Brotherhood gathered to draw the Jedi to them and pushed them into hiding. The Sith had the advantage but the Jedi were to well hidden. A Sith fleet surrounding the planet kept out supplies and reinforcements for the Jedi. Both side grew restless but with no supplies or reinforcements the Jedi couldn't defeat them and it would have only been a matter of time before either they were driven to the point that they had to make a final stand and loose or the Sith would have figured out a strategy to kill them off. Instead the Brotherhood was sabotaged from within. A Sith Lord named Dessel called in an order to the fleet that allowed the Jedi in orbit with supplies to reach the surface. He then tricked them brotherhood into performing a series of rituals that culminated in a ritual that unleashed a fierce Sith weapon; the thought bomb. This killed off all of the Sith leaving only himself. He did not want the brotherhood to succeed, he wanted the glory of destroying the Jedi for himself so much that he sacrificed the Brotherhood believing that he was capable of defeating the Jedi himself."

"The Brotherhood was the closet we have ever come to destroying the Jedi isn't it?"

"Yes, and that is why we shall recreate the Brotherhood. Now you must rest for tomorrow you shall start your Sith training."

"I have one more question Master."

"Speak."

"Why is it you have given me the title of a Dark Lord when I have barley begun my Sith training?"

"You have been granted the title as a sign of you knowledge and power. You do not come to me unaware of the force and how to use it. Your skills are developed beyond that of most students, and you unique talents and abilities give you a great advantage over them. You just require the knowledge of the Darkside and how to use it. A Sith Lord is one of great power and ability and you poses such. Now unless you have more you wish to ask go now to your chamber and rest."

* * *

Rest did not come easy to Rächen that night, he was anxious to begin his full Sith training; to leave the Jedi Order behind. He wanted to gain the power needed to destroy the Jedi Council and the whole Jedi Order. He had always been held back by them and mocked by many for the amount of time he spent in the Archives. He had been ignored when he tried to warn the council about Master Jasra's death. He thought back to what he heard them say, it was if they had called him a liar when he told them what he had seen and knew. He had been right outside the council chambers door when they decided to ignore his warning. Further they wanted to summon his old master to baby-sit and control him; they wanted to control him.

.

Eventually he found rest; with it came a dream, a vision. In it he saw a large muscular man wearing a long black robe; Rächen didn't recognize him but the man has holding onto a red bladed light saber; the choice weapon of a Sith Lord. The vision was blurred as it jumped from one scene to the next without any context to put it in. He saw images of the same man but in a miners uniform and no weapon to speak of. His visions shifted to a different figure, this one also had a Red Bladed Lightsaber and wore a large black hooded robe. The face of this figure was hidden by a mask though and the extremely large hood. Rächen could only guess that this figure was human but was unsure. Multiple images came to him with this second figure in it. Rächen saw the figure standing in a cave looking at an incomplete starmap. He also saw the figure standing atop a temple looking over a the land surrounding it. In all of his visions he could hear nothing of what was being said by the beings he saw. His dreams continued to change until he saw himself standing in front of a large door. He knew not what he saw but the force was telling him that what he saw himself standing in front of was a Sith Academy. He felt power within himself beyond anything he could imagine. He wondered what all this was he was seeing, what were the first two series of images about and when were they. The last vision he knew had to be of the future but he had no clue how to he would gain such power.

.

When he awoke he knew he was on Koriban but could barley feel the dark side calling to him, in fact it felt like the planet was weak. He had expected to feel a strong dark presence radiating from the planet itself, after all this was the home of the Sith was it not? Between his dreams and the weakness that he felt coming from Korriban he tried to meditate on it but could hear nothing in the force; nothing was coming to him. Deciding he had spent long enough meditating he set his concerns aside and proceeded out into the main chamber of the ship. There he found his Master kneeling in the middle of the room meditating. Rächen stood at the entrance to the room waiting for his master to acknowledge him.

.

Finally after what seemed like an centuries to him his Master acknowledged him.

.

"As you no doubt are aware we are on Korriban, home to our greatest academy. We have many academies spread threw the galaxy but this is the top; only the best get into it. It is led by Master Jerc Toral. He believes that he is to be my eventual apprentice, the one who will help me to destroy my Master. A student has been placed in the academy by him to rise up and overthrow him and take control of the academy. I have taken precautions against this by placing many of the leaders in the academy myself with orders to protect Master Toral. The student is powerful enough that he could do it if it weren't for the rest of the leaders. You will train here until I return for you. At that time you will strike down Master Tora and together we will lead the Sith into a new era of glory."

"Who is to take over the academy then?"

"When the time comes I will select the instructor I feel is best to lead; he will sort out the weak form the strong and those who show us no loyalty to us. It is important until the that all believe that you are here to learn and eventually take his place as leader of the academy when I come to take him from the academy. As a way of tricking all the others you must endure all the same trials that another student would endure. You must prove your worth to the Sith. Currently We sit in Dreshdae; capital of our home world. It is here that we must depart, I back to my Master, you off to prove your skills to gain entrance to the academy."

"How am I to do that Master?"

"Many ferocious beasts walk the surface, many of the Sith Masters of the academy have tasks they wish not to bother with themselves, many students carry with them what you need; these and many more can gain you entrance. It is up to you to prove yourself. I can tell you nothing more except that one with your skills and talents should have no problem gaining a token of entrance."

* * *

The Dreshdae cantina was a small one but plenty busy. The cantina itself and the surrounding area was filled with people all going about their business; Rächen could feel the presence of many individuals who were strong with the force and strong with the darkside. With so many people present he could not figure out where to start to look for a "token of entrance" as his Master called it. To point him ion the right direction he quieted his mind; the world around him disappeared as he listened to the force. When it finally spoke to him it gave him an image of an Zabrak with red and black face paint sitting at one of the tables inside the cantina. With the image came a name; Maul.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

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Rächen opened his eyes and looked around the cantina easily spotting the Zabrak sitting at a table in corner of the cantina all alone. Making his way towards the figure he felt nothing; no connection to the force within the figure he had seen in his vision. He stood behind the figure trying to find the slightest connection to the force within the Zabrak but could find nothing. Convinced that his vision was of some point in distant the future Rächen turned to leave the cantina and continue to explore Dreshade but spotted something on the table sitting right out in the open. It looked just like some random coin but the force called pout top him loudly, it was a token of entrance.

.

"Tell me, how does an individual with no connection to the force such as yourself gain a token of entrance." Rächen asked as he walked around the table and sat down across from the Zabrak. He wasn't really concerned with the answer though, he had already decided that the token would be his.

"What do you mean no connection? Do you not know who I am?" the figured snarled at Rächen.

"Well I feel no connection to the force whatsoever within you; and no, I don't." Rächen replied nonchalantly.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!? I AM DARTH MAUL! DARK LORD OF THE SITH."

.

Suddenly the name the force had said to him made sense, "Well now things are starting to come togther for me; you think you're Darth Maul." Rächen did all he could not to fall on the floor laughing, "I don't know it is cruller to kill you or to leave you alive believing such a ridiculous thing."

.

Maul growled at him and stood up.

.

"You shall die for mocking me."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

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As a Jedi Rächen would spend all his free time in the archives reading and learning about the past. He often would engage Master Jast in discussions regarding the history of the order and why things were done certain ways. He had always believed that knowledge was power and that it would one day be the key to his destiny. Now he had confirmed it, the time in the archives had paid off; an Zabrak marked with red and black face paint now stood before him about to engage him in battle. Rächen had called the figures bluff -or at least he hoped it was a bluff- that it believed it was Darth Maul. The only thing Rächen wasn't sure of was if he should kill this "Darth Maul" or what to do with him other than laugh at him; he knew though the easiest way -or at least the most enjoyable way- to steal the token from him would be to enrage him further so that he would be to distracted to see the theft.

.

"Ok first off the _real_ Darth Maul is dead; killed by a Jedi five or six millenniums ago. So therefore you can not be him and are nothing but a sad excuse for an impostor. Second; how do you plan to kill me? You have no weapon and from what I see; while I have a Lightsaber."

.

Maul reached behind his back and grabbed a light saber and ignited it. While maul was distracted Rächen took the opportunity to steal the token dropping it into a small satchel he kept attached to his belt.

.

"You are not the only one with a light saber, and as for my supposed death; I faked it. The wounds that the Jedi inflicted were not fatal; in fact they barley even a scratch. Now stand up and face your death."

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Rächen looked at Maul and began laughing even harder, he couldn't contain himself.

.

"Ok, lets start with your light saber; it is completely wrong. What you have is a single bladed short light saber. The blade alone is not long enough to be Darth Mauls saber. Next is the blade's color; blue? If you are Darth Maul why is it that your blade is blue and not red? Topping it all off is that what you have is a single bladed light saber. Darth Maul used a staff light saber; the ever so feared double bladed weapon. Now lets move on form your saber to your wounds. It is kind of hard to fake a death and recover from being sliced in half; a little but more than a scratch if you ask me. You are not Darth Maul, admit it. Should you refuse and still inset on trying to kill me I will be forced to kill you." Rächen said laughing all the while.

.

Maul had heard enough and began to strike at Rächen. The blade was coming down on him when with a simple wave of his hand striped the light saber from Maul's hands. The Zabrak watched in complete amazement has the saber now rested in Rächen's hand.

.

"Now," Rächen stood up keeping the light saber pointed at Maul's chest, "do you want your death to be slow and painful or quick and painless?"

.

A sudden wave of relief came over Rächen, he suddenly felt free and liberated as if he had been chained down to something and those chains were suddenly broken. All that just from simply threatening this "Darth Maul".

.

"How did you do that? I felt no connection to the force within you."

"To feel one's connection to the force you must first have a connection yourself. Did you actually think that you were the only one with a connection to the force in here? You are the one with no connection; that is why you felt no connection to the force in anybody in here."

.

Rächen felt and fire burning inside of him; fuelled by his anger and annoyance towards this Maul character. The fire grew within him; the more he fed it the more it fed him, making him more powerful. He could feel the fear emanating from the Zabrak and he fed off of that as well.

.

"This is your chance to save yourself, answer my question truthfully and I may let you live. Do you really believe that you are Darth Maul?"

.

When no answer came and fear radiating like crazy from Maul, Rächen plunged the light saber into Maul's chest. A second wave of satisfying relief came over him; he could feel the power of the dark side within him and he felt more powerful than ever. The feeling over power was liberating to him, he felt free and now truly began to identify himself as Rächen, Dark Lord of the Sith.

.

Deactivating the light saber and clipping it to his belt Rächen watched as the figure that had claimed to be Darth Maul fall to the ground. He had only begun to savor the sight of his work and the new sensations accompanying it when he was interrupted.

.

"Very well done, I've been waiting for when one would come along and recognize that he was an imposter."

.

Rächen looked up to see another Zabrak walking towards him.

.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

"Rächen."

"So you are Rächen, I am Master Gann Star. I was sent by Lord Toral to find you. Tell me how is it that so many before you have believed him and you see him for what he was?"

"I was once a Jedi and during my time with them I spent much time in the archives studying much of their history. I remember reading about Darth Maul and his death, so therefore that creature could not have been Darth Maul."

"Tell me what was it about him that caused you to anger so?"

"I could feel no connection to the force within him and he tried claiming to be a great Sith Lord that could kill me; but yet knew nothing more than the name and image of the real Darth Maul. To make such an outlandish claims was an insult to not only the spirit of Darth Maul, but to all Sith. Finally he had a token of entrance and for all the reasons I have listed he did not deserve to be called a Sith."

"You have demonstrated knowledge and shown your willingness to give in to your anger; feeding off of it and fear alike. That token you took from him is a decoy. It takes very little to gain one of those; in his case he won it in a game of Pazzak. But those tokens gain you nothing; it will not gain you entrance into the academy. Those who gain them and try to enter are turned away and watched. If their actions deem them worthy by our eye they are granted a true token of entrance; an academy instructor's word. I have waited for one who would make him pay for his foolishness and ignorance. You have done that and in the process proved yourself worthy. Come with and I shall show you the academy.


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: I would like to take a quick second to apologize for the pathetic names I have come up with for my Sith characters. I simply put my KNOR game disk into my 360, created a new game and kept hitting the button to randomly generate names. I wrote down the ones I liked and assigned them to characters based on how I felt they fit (I used the same process for all my Jedi characters too, so I probably should extend the apology to cover those names also). **

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Chapter 17

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Star took Rächen around the academy showing him all the major points that he would need to know. Upon the conclusion of the tour the two of them gathered in Star's private chambers.

.

"I have asked you to join me so that I may inform you of the truth of this academy. Toral is not what you have been lead to believe."

"What is he then?"

"Why ask? I have heard of the ability you poses, if you wish to be a Sith you must learn to use it and not rely on others."

.

Rächen stood silent for a minute listening to the force.

.

"He is not loyal to Master Danis. His loyalties lie with Lord Sanis."

"Precisely, Lord Danis is unaware of Toral's true loyalty. He has Lord Danis tricked into believing that he is loyal to him. The truth is that his position here at the academy was meant to groom him and prepare him to strike down Lord Danis and become Lord Sanis' apprentice and second in charge as they recreate the Brotherhood of Darkness. Lord Sanis knows that Lord Danis disagrees on how to fill the Brotherhood and would ultimately try to overthrow him. When the time is right Lord Sanis is to return and take Toral with him. Our top student is to take his place as the head of the academy. When that happens there will be a great purge amongst the instructors and students. Those unwilling to follow him will be removed from the academy. I intend to take a personal interest in your training so that when Lord Danis returns you will be ready. The message that he sent to Toral never made it to the intended destination; I intercepted it. If he had learned of you it is a sure thing that you would have met some terrible fate before you could gain entrance to the academy. It is because of this we must show a public face of loyalty to Lord Sanis and Toral, though I often suspect he knows of true loyalties but does not dare act without proof."

.

Before anything more could be discussed a knock came at the chamber doors. Before Star could extend an invitation for who ever it was to enter, they did just that; in walked a Twelik male standing approximately meter and a half. While slightly shorter than Rächen his presence in the force quivered in comparison to that of Rächen. The Twelik carried himself as though he were over two meters tall; as if he were an almighty Sith Lord with the power to crush anyone he wanted at will.

.

"Instructor Star, I couldn't help but notice you giving a tour of the academy to a new prospect. I do hope you were planning on introducing him to me."

"I figured you'd meet him tomorrow at the daily new recruit meeting." Despite his best efforts Star couldn't hold back all the dislike he felt for the Twelik.

"Well since you already gave him the tour I guess all that is left is for me to meet him and then he can skip the meeting."

"I already know who you are and all about you." Rächen made no effort to hide his feelings towards the Twelik. "You are Jerc Toral, head instructor of this academy. You act like a hot shot, you are truly weak and rather rude to just barge in on another's private chambers with out being invited in. So I think I'll skip the introduction and you can simply leave." Rächen commanded with emphasis and a hint of force persuasion.

"Listen here, I am Jerc Toral Dark Lord of the Sith and master of this academy; you _will _show me the respect I deserve."

"In that case I should spit upon you now, cause that is the amount of respect you deserve."

"Let me make myself clear, I got to be master of this academy because of my power. I am now and have been the most powerful Sith here in a long time. So if you continue to disrespect me I'll have to teach you a lesson personally."

"You mean you'll try. Even if you were the most powerful one here at one time that has changed now that I'm here."

.

Rächen could feel Toral's presence in the force quivering with fear, but Toral's physical presence remained bold as could be; he wasn't backing down.

.

"Well if you're so powerful then prove yourself tomorrow against our top student; Dack Sankaar." Toral turned and left the room.

"I must admit you are certainly confident, but annoying him so and challenging him like that was not that smart. He's going to do everything he can now to hold you back."

"He doesn't dare, I have just made myself into a pawn in his game. If he holds me back Master Danis will figure it out and will take care of him and train me himself. If he allows my training to progress it allows him more time to find a way to try and get rid of me. What he doesn't know is my extensive knowledge battle tactics. I can see a trap coming at me like a Kyrat Dragon across the desert plains of Tatooine."

"Fine, I warn you though; pride and confidence are assets but arrogance benefits only the enemy. Now I must tell you of the program you will follow. You shall be instructed in two general fields, combat and power. Combat will teach you how to wield various weapons such as a light saber. It will also teach combat strategies. Power is instruction in the ways of the dark side; how to access it, how to use it, summoning and controlling various abilities that rely on the dark side of the force. During these sessions all students shall be granted equal time and attention from the instructors, if you wish further instruction you must approach an instructor and convince them to tutor you further. Some of our instructors have been granted the tile of Dark Lord, to those you shall address them as Lord, while those who are not are to be addressed as instructor; failure to do so can result in loss of favor with them. At the end of the day all students gather atop on the academies roof for the battle circle. Although there are no official rankings the battle circle gives unofficial rankings to some degree. With the circle any student may challenge another and to decline a challenge… well that is not a good idea; it shows weakness and looses you favor with the instructors. Once a student conquers the circle it is only a matter of time until they are allowed to take the Sith trials. In the circle the only weapons allowed are training sabers and any force powers you know how to use. Each duel lasts until Toral declares there is an absolute winner or the two duelists are either to tired to fight or to weak to be able to battle each other. Death blows are not allowed though you are encouraged to injure your opponent as greatly as you can without killing them. The final thing that you must learn is the Sith Code. Normally this would be taught during your new prospects meeting but since you will not be attending I will teach it to you.

My passion is my strength.

Through my strength I strengthen others.

Through our combined strength we gain victory.

With victory are chains are broken, we are free.

Rest and meditate on these words tonight. Tomorrow you face a tough, strong and powerful opponent, you need to be ready. Tomorrow I shall come get you when it is time for your training sessions to begin."

.

.

**A/N: I know this is not the proper Code of the Sith. I have intentionally given the code wrong with the idea that it has changed with the Sith over time. it is a tool to further drive home a point about the Sith of the era that this story takes place. You will see in the next chapter or two what I'm talking about. You will also meet the Sith Lord who is ultimately responsible for training ****Rächen ****in the ways of the darkside and setting him straight about the Sith of ****Rächen's time so he can go**** down the correct path to achieve the power that will eventually elevate him to Legend status.**


	19. Chapter 18

**I would like to thank Dr Grimm for the review and adding my story to the various alerts (the first person to do so). Please folks** **don't be afraid to follow Dr Grimm's lead and review and/or add my story to your alerts. **

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Chapter 18

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Rächen went through the next day just like all the other students. He kept a keen eye on all those he felt power in; he had to, it was either study those around him or die from boredom. Combat training was nothing he didn't already know and power training was nothing but using basic elements of the force such as moving small objects. Periodically his mind would wander and he would find himself laughing ever so slightly at his situation. Toral had done it, he had found a way to halt his training; temporarily at least. He was put in with student who were new to the force. It would be months before he would learn anything new. It didn't matter though, he would prove himself in the battle circle; after that he would be able to get assistance from any of the instructors he wanted.

.

Finally the end of the day came and he gathered with everybody else on the academies roof. As he waited for everybody to assemble he took in the view around him; he could see Dreshade and beyond it he could see another structure, it was faint and far off but he could see it. Wondering what it was he began to listen to the force for an answer. When it came to him it came as huge rush of information. What he saw was an old Sith academy, and though he couldn't see it the force told him that beyond that lay the Valley of the Dark Lords; burial ground to four Sith Lords from the past. The names Marka Ragnos, Ajunta Pall, Tulak Hord, Naga Sadow also came to him in connection with the tombs. He saw a few other visions that were jumbled and incoherent then his final vision was that of a cave; half way between the old academy and the valley. This cave had a dark power hidden within it but a great danger surrounded it.

.

Before Rächen could begin to try to make sense of anything he had just learned he heard Toral calling him to step into the ring ready. He looked across at his opponent; a Transdosian standing over two meters tall; intimidating in appearance. The Transdosian wasn't only physically intimidating but his presence in the force was as well. He was certainly powerful and strong; Rächen knew it wasn't going to be a s easy as he had expected. Never the less Rächen still believed he could defeat his opponent.

.

"Let the dual begin." Toral called out, and the battle was underway.

.

Rächen held back waiting to see what his opponent was capable of and would do. A quick and mighty slice came at him from the side, but blocked with ease leaving Rächen with a prime opportunity for a counterstrike that would easily have ended the dual. His opener's rib cage was wide open, all Rächen would have to do is quickly flick his wrists to flip the blade to the other side of his body and swing. If powerful enough the counter-strike could bear down all the way in and slice into a lung. The blade he wielded was not all that sharp but with a powerful enough blow he could do it, and he knew he was capable of doing it with the aid of the force. He could send the Transdosian to the medical unit for at least three months, but opted to play around with his opponent a while longer and wait for an opportunity to send his opponent to the medical bay for longer than three months.

.

The Transdosian stepped back after his initial attack had been blocked; he twirled his blade around in a fancy flourish to show off to the crowd. Rächen wanted to fight not to show off so he sent a slight force push in his opponent's direction; just enough to get his opponent's attention. It worked and the annoyed Transdosian came at him with a series of quick powerful attacks. Now Rächen was actually having to put forth an effort in order to defend himself. He blocked blow after blow then he saw his opportunity, the Transdosian had slipped up; one of his attacks was off target allowing Rächen to dodge the attack and counter to go on the offensive. Rächen wasted no time, he heard the force saying where his opponent's weaknesses were. Most force sensitive individuals such as the Jedi would have surrendered top the force letting it fight for them but Rächen was different. He could hear what strike to use and form what direction to inflict injury to his opponent. He had the Transdosian on the run; with his opponent beaten and bloody Rächen was ready for his big final blow. What he hadn't noticed though was how the Transdosian had been improving lightly; blocking certain attacks with greater ease, quicker recovery and was beginning to counter more often. The moment was at hand, his opponent was wide open for a series of strong powerful attacks. He would have to deliver them all quickly if he was to demolish his opponent in the fashion he wanted. He went in for the first strike only to have it blocked, countered and pushed back. The Transdosian was fighting with a great efficiency now. Any attack Rächen tried was anticipated, nothing he tried would work. The Transdosian came through with a quick sweep the knocked Rächen to the ground. As he went down he saw his chance to end the fight and to demolish his opponent.

.

Just like the first chance he had gotten his opponent had left his whole right side open and was coming in for a strike. All it would take once he was on his feet was to step to his left and pivot to turn and face the Transdosian then stick the blade in and push it down; victory would be his in a split second. He hit the ground, and just as he was starting to jump back up Toral called out, "ENOUGH!" He was short of breath and filled with fatigue, "The dual is over, Dack Sankaar is the winner."

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Baffled at what had just happened Rächen simply threw his training saber on the ground and left the roof to go back to his quarters and meditate on what had gone wrong.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

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Rächen spent a great deal of time meditating on how it was he had lost the fight. He thought back to the final seconds of the battle; he had been knocked down and as soon as he was on his feet again the victory would be his. The Trasndosian was committed to his attack and would not have been able to block the counter-attack that Rächen would have made. He thought of that second opportunity to end the battle and seriously injure his opponent; how was the Trasndosian able to fight like he did; to push Rächen back and be in the position he was in the final few seconds. Again nothing came to him. Rächen's mind kept going back to the final few seconds of the battle, something wasn't right. He had been knocked down and in the process of getting up the battle was called; that was it, he suddenly realized how he had been robed of his victory. Toral had seen the attack coming and called the battle as soon as Rächen was down. He still wasn't sure how it had gotten to that point but that would become clear with time, first he needed to confront Toral.

.

Rächen left his quarters and headed for Toral's private chambers and when he arrived he could hear Toral ands Star talking.

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"This Rächen had proven himself to be weak, and making it worse he is cocky and arrogant. Bottom line he is dangerous. He could easily bring us all down and therefore we must limit his training."

"Lord Sanis wants all to be trained; any who can feel the force are taught how to use the power of the dark side. Were those not his orders?"

"_Master_ Sanis wants to share the power with all those that can feel it so that he may strengthen the Brotherhood. If we share it with Rächen it would weaken us. He Believes himself to be more powerful than I. With arrogance of that sort he would hider the progress of others making the collective weak. That is why we must limit his training. I have already ordered all the other instructors not to give him any extra of their time and the same goes for you."

"Very well then."

"Excellent, now if you'll excuse me I am expecting Sankaar."

.

Rächen quickly hid out of sight as Star came out. Rächen wanted to go after him to find out why it was that he had agreed not to train him but his attention was drawn away when from the opposite end of the hall he saw somebody coming. He recognized the figure from earlier that day; his opponent in the circle. He could not remember the Trasndosian's name but remembered only a few moments earlier hearing the name Sankaar mentioned. It seemed to be to late in the evening for any training sessions to be taking place, so what could Toral want with Sankaar. As soon as the door closed he moved closer to it to hear what was being said.

_._

_You summoned me Master_?

"You were sloppy up there today. You are not practicing the exercises I taught you."

_I do not understand, I was victorious today. I have proven once again I am ready for the trails._

"You were called the winner but you were not victorious. How do you think it was that you were able to battle back from the brink of spending the next few months in a Bacta Tank."

_I battled back because I was superior to him._

"No, you are not. I do not know where this Rächen came from but some how he has a connection to Star and most likely Danis; therefore I could not allow him to defeat you. So to ensure your victory I aided you with a battle meditation. But even that was not enough, I only ended the fight because you left yourself open to an attack that would have sent you to the medical unit and made him the victor. I am growing tiered of your incompetence, we are never going to overthrow Dains if you continue to demonstrate such incompetence."

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Rächen had heard enough, he went in search of Star to tell him everything he now knew.

* * *

Rächen found Star in his private chambers mediating.

.

"Toral cheated." Rächen yelled bursting in.

"What are you talking about?"

"Toral used Battle Meditation to Aid what ever that stupid Trasndosian's name is."

"Okay first off his name is Dack Sankaar and second Toral doesn't have the power or knowledge to use a Battle Mediation."

"Think about it, it makes sense. How else could eh have battled back like he did, and why is it that Toral declared the fight over as soon as I hit the ground.. He didn't wait for me to get back up, he didn't even give me a chance to."

"If he was using a Battle Mediation why would he call the fight when you hit the ground, why wouldn't he let you get back up and have Dack wear you down some more and eventually send you to the Medical Unit?"

"Because they are both weak. Toral could only do so much to aid Sankaar who was himself top weak to defeat me. He had left himself open for a huge attack as soon I got back up and there was nothing either could do except call the fight once I hit the ground."

"What makes you so sure of any of this?"

"I overheard them talking. Toral is getting tired of Sankaar screwing up. He is the only thing preventing them form overthrowing Master Danis."

"I have spent countless hours stalking, tracking and unraveling Toral's plot. I assure you it is Sanis who is the mastermind behind the plot. Toral and Sankaar are just pawns in the game."

"Why then is Sankaar still just a student? Why hasn't he gone through your trials?"

"He has turned down the offer many times, he feels he still has more to learn before he is ready."

"That can't be, I overheard him asking why he has not been allowed to take the trials."

"I do not know what you heard but I assure you, whatever you heard you misunderstood. I have seen Dack turn down the offer multiple times."

"I know what I heard; just as I know that you have turned your back on me by agreeing to Toral's wishes that I am not to receive any extra training."

"I do not appreciate you spying on me, and Toral has a point. As much as I hate to say it he is right, you are to weak and arrogant to help the Sith; as long as you remain so arrogant and cocky you will be nothing but a hindrance to us. When I see Master Danis again I will inform him of all that is going on here and of you."

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Rächen turned and stormed out of the room to return to his quarters to spend the night in mediation. During that time nothing but rage and anger came to him; he could not stay inside the academy and meditate. He gathered a few supplies and left for the old academy he had seen in the distance while he was up on the roof.


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: In response to Dr Grimm's question in his review (btw sorry for the delay in responding to your question; I hadn't given it any thought until you said something so I had to do some research to figure out where to place him), I wouldd place it somewhere around 15,000 based on the sort of power I intended him to have (not the most raw natural pwoer but well up there. It is through his traning and research that he becmes more powerfull than any other sith)**

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Chapter 20

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"Lord Toral, have you seen Rächen around today?"

"No, why do you ask instructor Star?"

"I was told he did not show up for his training sessions today, and when I went to retrieve him form his quarters he was not there."

"He must have decided to leave the program then; all the better if you ask me. We do not need the likes of him in the program."

"Like it or not you have to admit there is great potential within him; if the Sith are to take over the galaxy having one such as that on our side would be a great asset."

"I told you last night that he is weak, why is it then that you advocate for him?"

"Like I just said, he has potential. If he can learn to calm himself and control himself there he could become a great ally. He has much anger and rage in him and if he can be taught how to use it he could be a huge help in the destruction of the Jedi."

"How do you know of this rage?"

"He came to me last night going on in a rant of nonsense. Saying how you are not loyal to Masters Sanis and Danis and how you cheated and help Dack Sankaar win the battle by using a Battle Meditation. Obviously he is mistaken, but now I fear he may have gone mad and fled the academy."

"If indeed he has gone mad then there is no hope for him. If it will help to ease you I will send a search party out for him in hopes that they can find him and bring him back."

"I would like to head the search myself."

"I'm afraid that is not sensible. You are one of the greatest instructors in the academy. I can not afford to have you out on a Wild Bantha chase; who would work with the students on their light saber techniques? After all you are the best swordsman in the Sith Empire."

"very well, but I want to see who you are sending before they go."

"Of course I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

It had taken all night just for Rächen to walk form the academy to Dreshade. Arriving shortly after the sun rose he sat down outside the city to gather himself.

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"Why am I doing this? Why am I going to this old academy? What is it I expect to find?" He asked himself aloud.

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He asked himself many more questions as he sat down outside the city. The thought about going back and just patiently waiting for his master to return and telling him all of what he had learned about the academy passed through his mind. Surely he would believe him; but what good would that do, he wouldn't have learned anything and would be no different than when he had come to Koriban. Gathering his strength he got up and continued on his way. The journey lasted little more than half an hour to reach the entrance of the old academy. The doors were easily opened and he proceeded into the main chamber. He sat his stuff down and took a seat on the floor and began to mediate.

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He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he stirred form his meditation to see a figure walking towards him. Only this figure wasn't physical. It appeared to almost be a ghost. It took a few minutes of staring at the figure to realize that it wasn't a ghost. He had heard of figures form the past coming back through the force to individuals and that is what he saw before him, the spirit of someone form the past. Further adding to the confusion was the fact that he recognized the figure from some of the visions he had received while on his way to Koriban.

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"Who are you?" Rächen calmly asked.

"I am Darth Bane. I was once _the_ Dark Lord of the Sith. I lived during a time similar to this one. When I lived there were many Sith, many who called themselves Dark Lords. They shared their power and became weak. I have watched the Sith and have seen them return to their old ways, the ways that I destroyed. As you were once a Jedi you must have heard of the Rule of Two."

"I have. It says that there is to be only one true master and one true apprentice at anytime."

"That is what it has become. When I created it the rule was that there should only be two Sith at a time. A Master and an Apprentice; one to embody the power and knowledge and one to seek it. Now there is one Sith Master and one Apprentice, but many others exist. When the power is shared by many it becomes perverted and weakened. I have watched and waited for one to come along who can purge the Sith and restore them to the way they should be. When I felt your arrival on Koriban I knew that you were the one. It is your ability to listen to the Force that shall guide you to your destiny. There is much information left here in the archives and plenty in the archives of the new academy. Read it, learn it and you will grow more powerful."

"I don't understand, if the Sith are so weak why should they be taken down to two in number? Why not gather an army of powerful Sith to strengthen it, why not rebuild the Brotherhood of Darkness like my Master plans."

"Commit yourself to the studies, learn how to communicate with me at will; it is through this that you will grow more powerful and can learn the truth of the Brotherhood of Darkness."

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With that the Bane turned and walked away diapering as he got further away. Once the spirit of Darth bane was gone Rächen wasted no time finding the archives and began to search through them to find what would be most useful to him as a starting point.

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It took a couple of hours but he searched the entire archive to decide what would be of use to him and what wouldn't. It would take him at least a month to read everything he felt might be of any value to him and he only enough rations to last him for a day or two. He finally decided to grab as much as he could carry with him and would make several trips back and forth over the next few nights. He now knew how to find the academy, the trick was not getting lost on his way to Dreshade; that is what had taken him so long on the first place. The trip would only take him two hours round-trip giving him enough time to make three or four trips each night if he sacrificed getting any sleep. It was settled sleep could wait, the secrets of Dark Lords of the past awaited him; great power would be his.


End file.
